


Agent Wilde

by NickWildeAnJudyHopps



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Lots of minor and insignificant character deaths, ZIA Agents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2019-01-17 02:26:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 42,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12355563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NickWildeAnJudyHopps/pseuds/NickWildeAnJudyHopps
Summary: What would happen if Nick was a ZIA Agent instead of a hustler.ZIA AU





	1. Evaluation Day

The helicopter's rotor's were deafening, drowning out all other noise as the two unlikely agents stood in the open doorway of the chopper. The bird was descending upon a courtyard at ZPD Headquarters with a few dozen officers standing at attention. The species of the officers varied from giant elephants to a single bunny. Standing in front of all of them was a single water buffalo in a tight blue uniform with several large insignia on it. Behind the group was a large wooden stage. All were saluting the descending helicopter, or more specifically, it's passengers.

The chopper's passengers were dressed entirely in black. Black suit, black tie, black shoes, black ear mics, black pants and black gloves. The taller of the two also wore black pilot shades. The smaller passenger was ZIA Agent Jack Savage, the first hare agent, and standing next to him in the pilot shades was ZIA Agent Nicholas Wilde, the first fox agent and a good foot taller than his counterpart. Both agents had been working in the field for just over 7 years and had become fast friends as they pushed each other to their limit. They were often paired together for massive projects because of how well they worked together and would die for the other.

The rotor's wings began kicking up dust and dirt, making the grass in the courtyard ripple with each rotation as the chopper touched down gently. The Agents' clothing were flapping in the wind while they stood deathly still, holding onto the rim of the door frame. As soon as the it touched down, the two agents gracefully stepped out of the chopper, proceeding to walk towards the group of officers. When they were about twenty feet away from the chopper, it took off.

The buffalo approached the duo. "I presume you to be Agents Savage and Wilde?" The buffalo was clearly nervous. Meeting ZIA Agents, especially ones as skilled as these two, was not something to be taken lightly. If he upset them, he very well knew that his job could be on the line.

The red fox took off his shades slowly and placed them in his breast pocket. He looked up at the masculine bovine before him, "And who might I be speaking to?" He could see how nervous the animal was. Nick had always enjoyed the feeling his presence gave others. It was quite funny actually, seeing as how the animal before him was easily four times his size.

"I-I am Chief Bogo. It is a pleasure to meet you." The buffalo was actually sweating at this point. Nick grew a small smirk at this.

Jack spoke to the buffalo with an even tone, "The pleasure is ours. As you know, we have been sent to evaluate your officers. The five best will be taken under our wing, so to speak, and trained personally. And from these officers, two will be chosen to join the ZIA."

"Right this way, agents." The buffalo escorted the two towards the stage behind the group. When the trio had reached the front of the stage, Bogo shouted "About face!" causing every officer to turn to the stage.

Nick stepped forward as the buffalo stepped back. He looked out at the mass of blue before him. As he was looking around, his eyes fell upon a certain bunny. A bunny cop definitely wasn't something you see every day. Nick noticed how confident she looked. He guessed that she was a rookie. "Heheh," he thought, "we're gonna have to change that won't we."

He looked back out over the swarm of blue and projected his voice out across the crowd, "My name is Special Agent Nicholas Wilde," Jack walked forward on queue so that he was standing next to Nick, "and this is Special Agent Jack Savage. Yes, I am a fox and he is a hare," Nick raised his voice slightly, but just enough to get his point across, "but don't think for a second that we are to be taken lightly. We have had our paw in more shit in our seven years than some of you could manage in twenty."

Nick lowered his voice back to it's original booming volume, "We are here today to evaluate each and every one of you. Out of the 55 officers here today, only 5 of you will be trained by us personally. After six weeks we will evaluate those five again and then two will be chosen by us, one each, to be taken under our wing and indited into the ZIA." Nick had a huge smile on his face.

Jack knew that Nick always liked being at the center of attention. He was good at handling it, that's for sure.

After Nick had finished speaking, he reached into his breast pocket and put his pilot shades back on. Time for some fun. "Your first evaluation begins immediately. This is how it's going to go. We do not play games her, one mistake and you're dead. You will all run around the perimeter of this courtyard. After twenty laps we will begin pulling the two slowest after each lap for ten laps after that. That's right, twenty of you will be eliminated right here, right now. GO!"

Nick shouted the last part and watched the officers rush to the perimeter and then most began going full speed. However, about five had decided to go near full speed, but not quite. This made both Nick and Jack smile. The importance of this evaluation is mostly endurance, but it's also strategy. When a perp sees the men in black, they usually panic and tack off at full speed and will wear themselves out quickly. But if the agent stays just a bit slower, they will last longer and will catch the runner in the end.

The fact that five of the officers knew that was assuring. Among those five was the grey bunny officer Nick had noticed in the group. He would definitely have to keep a close eye on that one.

When lap twenty came around the hare and fox rushed over to a point at the perimeter. They had all just witnessed two Special Agents running at top speed. Both Jack and Nick knew that they tied in every race they've had to date and also knew that their top speed was 60 miles an hour. This is faster than any other mammal in their species could run. They would make sure that their individual underling would be able to match them when they became Special Agents.

At the sight of the two speeding across the courtyard that fast, about a quarter of them stumbled, but quickly regained their senses and caught up with the others.

"Lap 21: bear and elephant, you're done," boomed Nick. The two mammals knew exactly who they were and walked towards the center of the courtyard with their tail between their legs.

"Lap 22: wolf and wolf," said Jack. The fox and hare began trading off calling the disqualifiers.

"Lap 23: lion and tiger!"

"Lap 24: bear and wolf!"

"Lap 25: elephant and elephant!"

"Lap 26: rhino and hippo!"

"Lap 27: buffalo and rhino!"

"Lap 28: jaguar and lion!"

"Lap 29: hyena and tiger!"

"Lap 30: hippo and bear!"

With the last of the laps complete, only 35 officers remained in the group.

Nick looked over all of them and only two of the five who had reserved their energy at the beginning had remained, including a certain bunny. Nick's gaze lingered on the officer for a moment before making them all jump afoot when he boomed, "You don't get time to rest. You will have to engage in shootouts after giving chase many times in your career if you are one of the lucky two. So now that you are exhausted, let's go shoot some targets." He began leading them towards the firing range. He opened a crate and pulled out several smaller containers, each about the size of the Jack Savage. As Nick put down the containers, Jack opened them to reveal the guns inside.

The first container held M16A2 military rifles.

The second held Mossberg 590 shotguns.

The third contained Colt 9mm SMG sub-machine guns.

The fourth and final container held LaRue Tactical OBR 7.62 sniper rifles.

Jack spoke to the group, "You should all know each of these guns already. We have 40 firing ranges, each set to run on four rounds. The first being short range and will be taken on with the Mossbergs. The second round will be at close to medium range and will be taken on with the Colts. The third round will be at medium to long range and will be taken on by the M16A2s. And the final round will be at long range and will be taken on by the LaRue Tacticals. The 25 with the lowest scores will be removed from the evaluation, leaving ten left. Take one of each gun and approach your station, your name will light up above your station." Nick and Jack both used this opportunity to check the names of the ones they found the most promising.

Nick learned that the bunny's name was Judy Hopps. An ironic name for a bunny. He checked the names of a rhino named McHorn and an elephant named Francine Trunkaby, but neither of them peaked his interest like the bunny did for some odd reason. He paid very close attention to her. At the beginning of the third round, the fox stood behind the bunny as she fired on the targets with the assault rifle. She missed only one shot from a fifty round clip. Nick felt himself smirk at that near perfect hit ratio. Though hitting the targets and getting good scores were two completely different things. When she picked up the sniper rifle, he could tell that it was a little heavy for her. However, she fought through it and again got a near perfect hit ratio, missing only one shot from a twenty round clip.

At the sound of the horn signaling the end of the evaluation, the scores of the officers were displayed next to their names above them. Unsurprisingly, Judy had the highest score on the board, though nowhere near what Nick or Jack would have gotten. Both Nick and Jack had prided themselves with the fact that they both got perfect scores every time they ran this exercise. The elimination process left only McHorn, Trunkaby, Hopps, Snarlov, Wulford, Delgatto, Fangmire, a tiger, a cheetah, and a coyote.

Nick clapped his hands together once and looked at the group, "Well, congratulations, you are all that remains of the 55 original officers. Up until now, you had to be better than a group. But now, you'll have to be better than your opponent." The officers looked confused for a moment, "Don't worry. Everything will make sense in a moment." Nick proceeded to lead the group back outside and towards the place that previously had a stage, but now had a boxing ring with no net. He stopped in front of the ring and turned towards the group. "This is your final evaluation for six weeks. You will all be placed against your opposite in the ring. That means that Trunkaby is going to be placed against Hopps. Though it seems impossible for Judy to beat Francine, it is possible. Both Jack and I were placed against massive opponents when we were evaluated in this way, though we were never officers st the start. This is just a taste of your true final evaluation if you pass this one. That will be far harder than the ring that stands before you. You will be facing one of us in this very ring. But that isn't until 6 weeks from now. The first match is Howler against Delgatto," the wolf and coyote stepped into the ring, "The rules are simple. Render your opponent unable to continue. There are three rounds in a match. Best of three. If you knock your opponent unconscious, it's an automatic victory. No killing. BEGIN!"

Delgatto won the first round by pinning Howler to the mat with his arm behind his back. The second round went to Howler after he put his jaw around Delgatto's neck, causing him to submit. Th final round went to Delgatto after he body slammed the coyote to the mat, knocking the wind out of him.

The second match was Spotty against Snarlov. Snarlov won both the first and second round, first by pinning, and then by headbutting the cheetah unconscious.

The third match resulted in the victory of McHorn over the tiger and the fourth match resulted in the victory of Fangmire over Wulford.

Then came the match of Judy against Francine. When Judy got up onto the ring, Nick couldn't believe that he was actually rooting for her to win. Why? He's supposed to be objective to the participants. He couldn't quite figure out why he felt couldn't in his right mind make himself want her to lose. Whatever. He'd figure it out later.

The first round began and Francine immediately tried to swat Judy with her trunk, but Judy jumped over it, rolling to her feet, bouncing in place waiting for an opening or anything that would give her an advantage. Nick admired her determination. The elephant tried to step on Judy, but the bunny took the opportunity and slammed all of her weight into Francine' one leg attached to the ground. This caused the elephant to flail as she fell backwards and slammed onto the ground on her back. She didn't move, but you could see she was breathing. Judy looked wide eyed at the unconscious elephant before her. Nick grabbed the bucket of cold water at his feet, walked over to the elephant and flung the water at her face. The elephants eyes shot open as she sat up like lightning.

"Francine, I'm afraid you have failed the evaluation," said Jack, "Thank you for your participation." The elephant grew a sad face and slumped her way out of the courtyard.

After the group of seven was alone, Nick and Jack called for a chopper. Five minutes later, the whirring of the helicopter's rotor could be heard as it grew near.

After the group had boarded the chopper, it took off. Surprisingly, it was headed straight towards the palm hotel.

"Oh," exclaimed Judy, "This is just a front. The building must actually be the ZIA Headquarters."

"Got it in one," said the fox with a grin.

Once inside, their six month training would begin.


	2. The ZIA

Judy could not believe the sight before her. Though she had seen the Palm Hotel from the train ride into Zootopia the day before and when she was walking around the city, she had never seen it this close. She loved the way it seemed to sparkle in the sunshine, like a palm tree shaped diamond.

Truth be told, never in a million years would she have guessed that the building was actually a front for the Zootopia Intelligence Agency. Though it made perfect sense, keep the lower half actually being used as a hotel, sound proof mid way up, and use the upper half for the ZIA. No one would ever suspect what was going on.

As the chopper approached the building, a large window slipped down, revealing a hanger with at least forty other unmarked black copters. Special Agent Nick Wilde and Jack Savage dismounted from the chopper first, followed by Judy, Delgatto, McHorn, Snarlov and finally Fangmire.

Judy looked at the fox, "This is amazing Agent Wilde!" She started bouncing up and down a little.

"Please," the agent said with a warm smile, "just call me Nick."

"Okay, Age- uh...Nick."

The fox chuckled at how easily embarrassed she was. Judy's face turned a little red. Is it hot in here?

The hare spoke next, "Please call me Jack as well. We are all just trying to do the same job. None of us are superior or inferior."

Nick shook his head as a loud clang was heard near a dented chopper that was being repaired. He looked at the group of five officers, "Alright, welcome to the bird's nest. This is were the choppers are docked, repaired and retrieved. If you need to leave the building, you do it in a chopper. We don't have anything important on the schedule as of right now, so why don't we give you the tour." As he said that there was a quiet whir as the panel that had let them in slowly closed. Surprisingly, it was somewhat see-through, seeing as how the outside was like looking in a mirror.

The group followed the fox and hare as they lead them towards a double door that Nick needed to place his paw on a scanner to open. He turned towards the others, "The two officers that are chosen will gain full access and will have their paw prints registered in the system. Until then, you'll need a ZIA employee to open the doors that lead to secure areas. Your rooms are just regular locked."

Judy ears shot up, "Wait, we have to live here?"

Nick looked at the bunny with a sly grin on his face, "Well of course you do. what? Did you think that we were going to go the ZPD everyday for six weeks? Besides, these rooms are way better than anything you could possibly afford out in the city. It's just another incentive to become a ZIA agent."

Nick lead them down out into a long hall that felt right out of a mansion. They walked down the hall until they reached a doorway that said 'STAIRS' above it. They descended four floors before Nick stopped and unlocked another door. The hallway looked exactly the same, but somehow the two agents seemed to know where they were going. They rounded a corner before they reached a door that said 'EMPLOYEES ONLY'. Nick unlocked the door and they were greeted by several different animals, all dressed casually, but something was slightly off.

It probably had to do with the fact that all of the mammals had a pistol strapped to their hip.

Nick looked over his shoulder, "Welcome to the living quarters. Your rooms are right this way," said Nick st they continued walking. They followed him a little bit longer until they reached an empty hallway with seven doors. "Jack's and my room are on the end, the rest is up to you to decide. There's always food in your kitchen and-"

"OUR WHAT??" asked every officer in the group at once.

"Hahaha, ya know what, I'm gonna stop ruining the surprises. We are going to be getting up early tomorrow, so get some sleep." Nick and Jack looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes and grinned. "You'll need it."

Judy called dibs on the room next to Nick's for some reason she couldn't quite understand. When she opened her door, she was greeted by the smell of freshly washed sheets, flowers and everything that comes with the smell of a brand new home.

Her apartment was massive, at least to her, as the only place she had lived in Zootpia was no bigger than your average cubicle. She had a living room, a bedroom with a bathroom, and a kitchen. The living room had a red couch sitting in front of a coffee table and large flat screen TV. She walked over to her bedroom and opened the door.

Inside was a red king sized bed with gold inlaid designs along the head board. She walked back out to admire the kitchen.

The kitchen was attached to the rest of the apartment by a half-wall and an archway. The floor was a pristine white. The counter was a black and white granite. There was a bowl of fruit sitting on the table at the center of the kitchen. There was a black stove with an oven underneath. The fridge was rather large, taller than Judy by at least a foot. The freezer thankfully was the height of the counter and was next to the fridge.

On the fridge there was a piece of paper with something typed out and a few lines at the bottom. It said 'Please place your species and gender on the lines below so that we may get you the proper essentials. If there is any preferences, please place them there as well. Your supplies will be waiting for you in the morning. When you are done, please reattach this paper to the refrigerator.'

Judy took out her carrot pen that she had bought at a souvenir shop on her way into Zootopia yesterday. It had a recording device built in. She wrote down everything in her neatest handwriting and placed the paper back on the fridge.

Judy took an apple from the fruit bowl and walked over to the couch. She munched on her apple as she watched a little TV. There wasn't anything on that night.

She finished her apple and chewed up the core. She let out a big yawn. She giggled, "I guess I'm more tired than I thought. I have a to get up early tomorrow. I better get to bed." Judy climbed into the bed and quickly fell asleep. She didn't wake up until morning.

 

Nick woke up at 4 in the morning. He listened intently for the sound of anyone moving. Nothing, Figures.

He got out of bed and grabbed the megaphone he kept in his closet. He opened his door at the same time Jack did, they were both dressed in their suits. "Morning Jack. Sleep well?"

Jack Savage smiled at the fox. "I did actually. It was the best I've slept in a few weeks."

"That's great." Nick put the megaphone up to his face and pressed the amplify button. "Wake up, wake up! I am NOT waiting all day. You got most of yesterday to recoup, but that ain't gonna happen today. You have one minute before I leave without you." He let the device drop to his side and within 40 seconds, the entire group was standing in the hall, though most of them weren't in their uniforms, Hopps and Delgatto were. Nick mentally logged this for six weeks from now.

Savage and Wilde didn't give any instructions, they just started walking down the hall causing the others to follow them. They went to the same staircase as yesterday and brought the group back to the 'Bird's Nest' as Nick had called it. They borded the chopper from yesterday and the pilot took off through the now open panel.

Nick was still carrying the megaphone as he put on his pilot shades and leaned grabbed the side of the door frame. They were soon on their way to their destination.

 

Judy had to cup her ears firmly against her head so that the sound of the rotor's wouldn't hurt her sensitive ears. She looked at the other's on the chopper and most of them seemed to be on edge about what their first training day was going to be like.

Judy herself was rather curious, but she couldn't get worked up over what it might or might not be like. She took a deep breath and looked at the fox. "How long have you been on with the agency?" she asked.

He looked at her and seemed to be thinking about something. Then he shook his head slightly and smiled, "Seven years, same as Jack. How about you? How long have you been an officer?"

Judy was surprised he'd even answered her, let alone ask her a question. She quickly recovered, getting her cheery attitude back, "Yesterday was my first day."

Not the fox looked really confused. She could tell he was not expecting her to say that. He composed himself and gave her a grin. It was goofy and kind at the same time. Judy felt a little warm for some reason. "First day, huh? I can still remember my day in the military..." he trailed off.

Judy's eyes opened wide in surprise. "You were in the military?"

"Yeah, I was shipped over seas with a group of over two hundred. Believe it or not, out of all of them, I was the only fox. I almost got stepped on a couple times actually, what with me being so much smaller than some of them." He chuckled at the memory. He grew quiet, and Judy suspected that she may have made him think of something he didn't want to think about. She decided it was best to drop the subject. For now. Nick suddenly spun around to face the group. "Alright, we're approaching the drop zone. On my mark, you are going to jump one at a time, biggest to smallest. Got it?"

"Wait,"Judy thought, "we're jumping out of a helicopter?" Judy quickly looked out of the chopper to sea a beach in front of them and a body of water underneath them. "Alright, not as bad as I thought it was, but we are still at least 100 feet above the water."

They got in line and Nick gave them the signal. The order was McHorn, Fangmire, Snarlov, Delgatto and finally Judy. The others were all within three feet of each other, but Delgatto was twice her size, being about seven feet tall. McHorn jumped and dove headfirst with his horn hitting the water first with a massive splash as the six hundred pound tank of a mammal hit the water. Fangmire jumped with her massive paws pointing downwards in an arrow fashion, which Snarlove and Delgatto followed. When it was Judy's turn, she leaped from the door, the sudden feeling of weightlessness as she fell a little strange, but she forced her mind to focus.

The wind was making her ears flap. A hundred feet was a long fall and she had plenty of time to get into position with her arms and tiny paws creating a point while she straightened the rest of her body like a spear. Despite doing everything correctly, the force she felt when she hit the water was intense. It felt like running into something at full speed. Her body ached a little after taking that beating.

She surfaced, gasping for air and swam to shore. As she reached the beach, the chopper set down and the two agents dismounted their bird. The pilot was told to stay put. The flight had taken over half an hour and nobody felt like waiting half an hour for the chopper to come pick them up.

Nick and Jack approached the battered officers and looked them over. McHorn had been stupid to go head first into the lake, as he was clearly a little light headed. Other than that, nobody was physically harmed by the fall. At this conclusion, the two mammals lead the group of five towards a fenced in area. Nick signaled the cougar at the booth outside of the fence and the feline opened the mechanical gate.

The officers were herded into the now apparent military compound. It looked quite similar to the academy training camp Judy went through. However, this one was noticeably more elaborate, difficult and demanding. The compound had two building with glass walls on three sides. One of them had firing ranges and the other had fighting rings. Nick proceeded to explain that each building had the equipment to replicate the extremes of each biome in Zootopia. The way he described it, it was clear that the academy was a cake walk compared to what this was going to be.

This was going to be their training grounds for the next seven days. Jack said that they were going to need to master the extremes of all of the biomes in both a firefight and a fist fight. He said that seven days is plenty of time to learn to perhaps not master them but to endure and understand how to fight in them. They were then split into two groups. McHorn, Snarlov and Delgatto went with Jack, while Judy and Fangmire went with Nick. Jack's group went towards the fighting rings and Nick's group went to the firing ranges.

Judy was and Fangmire each walked up to separate firing ranges. Judy looked at the assortment of weapons in front of her and decided on the Desert Eagle. Fangmire chose the Colt LE901 semi auto rifle.

The moment that the targets rose from the floor, a blizzard with winds at sixty miles an hour started, obscuring their vision and causing them to have to compensate for drag even at this range. The rest of the day was spent using different guns in different storms. At one point, Nick had grabbed an FN SCAR-H and repeatedly got bulls-eye shots almost every time, firing in bursts.

Everyone went home beat that day.


	3. The Final Test

The next six weeks were brutal. Everyday they were forced to get up at 4 in the morning and proceed to the military training facility. Their task differed slightly with each day. They had to be prepared for absolutely everything, from taser wielding lunatics to flawless professional snipers. They had to know how to deal with each situation quickly and efficiently with as few casualties as possible.

The final week was especially rigorous as the situations they were placed in became more intense and risky to innocent lives and their own. In the police academy, it was enforced and embedded into their minds that they were to never kill purposefully, however the fox and hare had to re-hardwired their minds, telling them they would need to have the ability to kill as soon as things start to go sideways. If the assailant rushes the crowd, don't hesitate. You need to stop him immediately, even if that means a bullet to the skull.

Judy's muscles were able to sustain a lot more pressure and exertion than she previously thought possible. Her reflexes were much faster and she herself was faster as well. Though not as fast as Nick, she could now beat Jack in a foot race. Fighting them however, was something she was dreading. These were veteran agents who had been working for the agency for seven years. She didn't think that six weeks was going to be enough to allow her to match their skill.

They had started to reveal the purpose of the final evaluation fight a few days ago. "This is not a test, in the sense that, you don't have to beat us to pass. Though if you did beat us, you would have practically sealed your place as one of the chosen two. This is highly unlikely however," Nick had been telling them on the ride back to Palm Hotel, "The purpose is to gauge your improvement and current skill. The sidelines fight we watched you participate in was helpful, but it is nothing like being able to square off with your opponent and view their weaknesses and strengths in a new light."

This had made everyone clearly more relaxed that they didn't have to actually win the fight. They all were pretty sure that if that were the case, they would all be going back to the ZPD. Even though they didn't have to win, Judy was determined to still try. If they want to see her best, then they were going to get it.

Judy was currently laying down on top of her bed. Her muscles were throbbing from the eleven hour training they went through today. They rarely ever got a break during that time. She understood this completely however. Six weeks is not a lot of time to train you to be ready for the EASIEST of jobs ZIA agents were given.

She smiled at the thought that tomorrow was the final day. The day that she was going to be able to prove herself against the two agents.

She was a little disappointed that she hadn't been able to find out anything more about Nick's past. For some reason she was very interested in it. More so than she should be. She just simply pushed it aside, thinking it was due to her overactive curiosity.

She lay there several more minutes before she got ready for bed. She put on some pajamas and slid under the cover, shutting of the lamp beside the bed.

 

 

"Get up, get up! We have a big day today and I will not accept any slackers! You have a minute before I leave without you!" The sound of Nick's voice booming through the mega phone was part of the morning routine by now. Judy was always up ten minutes before hand so she had time to shower and change into her uniform.

There never was anybody who went over the one minute mark, so none of them knew if he really would leave without them, though none were willing to test it.

Forty seconds later, everyone was in the hall, some still weren't wearing their uniforms, but neither of the ZPI agents ever commented on it. As usual, they started walking towards the Bird's Nest without a word.

However, once they were aboard the helicopter, they all noticed that the chopper was not taking them to their usual location. It was taking them back to the place they had first met the ZPI agents, the courtyard behind the ZPD Headquarters. When they landed and opened the doors of the chopper, it was quite apparent that most of the police force had been given the day off and were here to watch their friends and colleagues participate in their final test. A slight breeze was present, ruffling the mammals' fur slightly. All of the one hundred something officers were watching intently as the fox and hare dismounted the chopper, followed by the rest of the group.

Neither Nick nor Jack were fazed by this, seemingly having known that this was going to happen. They walked towards the fighting ring in the center of the courtyard. It was larger than the one they had used on the first day, giving more space to move around and evade incoming attacks. The only similarity was that it still didn't have a net.

Nick turned towards the group once they had reached the side of the ring. "Alright, I have already explained a little about this test, but now I will go in depth," he was handed a microphone so that the police force could hear the rules as well, "You will enter the ring one at a time and face Agent Savage. After that fight is over, you will face me. Your training should have given you the durability and endurance to have plenty energy to start another fight immediately. If you don't, then that will reflect poorly on the decision. If one of you manages to beat either me or Jack, you will most likely not have anything to worry about when it comes time to choose the two who will become ZIA agents.

"The same rules apply as last time with some slight modifications. The rules previously stated were that if you are unable to continue to fight, whether pinned or stunned, then you lose. If you are knocked unconscious, then you don't continue to the next fight. There is no killing. The modifications to these rules are that if you are knocked unconscious, you will not be immediately disqualified, however if you are knocked out while fighting the first agent, then because you have not fought the same amount as everyone else, you can pretty much kiss your ZIA career goodbye. On the bright side, you will be one of the best ZPD officers on the force due to your training.

"The first recruit to fight is Higgins," Nick handed the microphone back to the mammal who had given it to him as Jack and Higgins entered the ring.

Higgins, a hippo, is easily four times the height of Jack, a hare. But memories of Judy's match against Francine, an elephant who was at least six times her height, remind them that size does not matter.

Higgins couldn't stand still if his life depended on it. It was clear that he had to psyche himself up to even step into the ring. But now that he was there he just wanted the fight to start.

Jack Savage was the exact opposite. The hare stood perfectly still, his ears flapping slightly in the breeze. He was eyeing his opponent's movements, uncovering his weaknesses and strengths, formulating a plan of action for multiple situations. Jack thought of fighting as much as strategy as actual physical confrontation.

After thirty seconds, which felt like ten minutes, Nick gave the signal and Higgins squared up to Jack, immediately going into a fighting stance. Jack however stayed as he was, perfectly upright and daring his opponent to make a move. Jack didn't show any emotion, having perfected the art of a poker-face.

Higgins did in fact make the first move. He charged the hare, much faster than most of the ZPD officers expected inciting a collective double take, but missed his swing as the hare had slipped between the hippo's legs and was upright behind him, facing in his direction, in the blink of an eye. The hare took the initiative and swung at the hippo's legs, trying to top-size him.

Higgins dove out of the way and rolled into a standing position at the center of the ring. The hare moved quickly, leaping at the hippo foot first and slamming his body weight multiplied by the momentum directly into the large mammal's chest. As he made contact, Jack used his powerful leg muscles to slam his foot into the hippo's chest even harder, causing Higgins to be thrown backwards a couple feet.

He stood up slowly, the wind completely knocked out of him. He had not expected so much force to come out of such a small creature. Unfortunately, he didn't see Jack closing in for the final assault as he jumped several feet into the air, only to come down on the back of Higgins' head, smashing it into the mat of the ring. The force of the impact stunned the hippo for several seconds, long enough for Jack to be declared the victor. Jack had been sure not to put all of his strength into either of the two hits as he would have crushed every bone in the hippo's chest and would have caved his skull in.

Jack tagged Nick in, switching places. Jack knew that the hippo stood no chance against Nick. To be honest Jack knew that HE stood no chance against Nick. Being a fox, Nick had a lot more to prove when he first joined the agency. This caused him to fight harder and become far better than any of the other agents. There were now only a few who could hold their own in a fight with him. Jack eyed the bunny who had toppled the elephant in ten seconds during her first evaluation. 'She might just be one of them,' he thought to himself, smiling inwardly.

Said bunny was watching the fight intensely, trying to distinguish any sort of pattern in the way the two agents fought. But she was having a hard time finding anything, especially with how quickly they were shutting down their opponents.

When Higgins' second match began, he was a little more weary. He didn't know what the fox could do or how skilled he was, so he was going to let him make the first move. Nick was prepared for this, as he slowly starting stepping towards the hippo. He knew exactly how to end this fight with as little effort as possible. When he had reached the center of the ring, he stopped and crouched down.

The hippo smiled and took the false opening to charge the fox. Nick grinned inwardly as he leaped upwards, swinging his right foot and slamming it into the side of the hippo's head, sending the large mammal to be thrown to the side slightly. Nick hadn't put as much force into the attack as would be necessary to knock him out, just enough to make him unstable on his feet. Nick leaped upwards again, but this time he grabbed the hippo by the collar of his uniform and brought his massive bulk down with him as Nick put all of his 80 pound weight into pulling the hippo. Nick pushed off so he wasn't crushed as Higgins slammed into the mat with a loud 'boom', while Nick landed harmlessly on his feet a couple feet away.

Nick won the match by knocking Higgins out with his own weight.

The other matches continued, Judy still couldn't see a pattern as they used different tactics for each individual species. If only there was another bunny to go before her so she could see even a glimpse of what their plan might be for her. She did have one thing on her side. She was the only one who was smaller than the two agents. They couldn't use her weight against her like they could Higgins and they can't use her own momentum to the extent that they did Fangmire.

When it was finally Judy's turn she thought that she had come up with some scrap of knowledge about the way the two agents strategize. They used their opponents strengths against them, turning them into glaring weaknesses. But if she could manage to do the same, something the other recruits hadn't tried, she might be able to throw them off their game.

At least Jack anyways. Nick was unpredictable, sometimes erratic. He didn't seem to stay in one spot for long, and when he did, he was usually planning something. Both are equally bad, but the fact that he can change fighting styles in an instant was scary to say the least. He never made more than two hits, never missing and never failing to take full advantage of the impacts. He was efficient and deadly accurate. He was clearly the alpha of the two agents, someone Judy knew she had no chance of beating, but was determined to try none the less. She wasn't going to go down easily.

She stepped into the ring with Jack and realized how much more intimidating it was while inside the ring. Facing down someone who you just saw beat 4 other people, the smallest of which was four times her own size. She took a deep breath and put her own poker-face on, determined to do as much as she could to off put her opponent. Over the last six weeks she had learned that fighting was just as much physical as it was mental, if you could get into your opponent's head, you've gotten the upper hand.

Nick gave the signal and both lupines stayed perfectly still, both sizing the other up. Judy felt her fur and ears swaying in the breeze. It felt kinda-

She stopped her absent minded thinking when she saw the opening she needed. Jack had moved to get into position for his first attack, it wasn't the movement that would give her the opening however, as the movement was small, but it was the fact that he was in a mindset to attack, not defend against a sudden and unseen attack. Judy dove across the ring in an instant to stop on her back, the bottom of her feet pointed directly at Jack's chin as his eyes went wide, clearly having never seen the attack coming, he tried to jump back, succeeding slightly, but not enough for him to miss the back half of her large feet slamming into the hare's chin.

Jack was lifted off the ground sent backwards several feet, landing on his back, he quickly got back to his feet, rubbing his chin, he knew he was bleeding, the force of the hit breaking skin. He had never seen her move that fast before, one second she was ten feet away, the next she was underneath him ready to slam him in the face. If he hadn't moved back at the last second, he would be out cold. She was definitely good alright.

As Nick saw the hit, he smiled inwardly, she was only the second mammal to land a hit on either of them. The first had been Delgatto when he kicked Jack in the stomach. Unfortunately for the wolf, Jack had used this to offset his balance and kick is other foot out from underneath him. But Judy hit him without any chance for retaliation. She was clearly faster than Jack, as Nick was sure he had never seen Jack move as fast as the bunny had just then. What he saw next made him even happier.

Judy had taken the opportunity to take another hit on the hare, Jack thought he had fooled her by acting more stunned than he actual was and was about to get a finishing blow, but she saw him move and ducked below his flying kick. She reached behind her, grabbed his ears and slammed him back down to the mat. Jack had his ears pulled often enough that it didn't really hurt to have them pulled. What did hurt, was right after the whoosh of air as he was flung against the mat with enough force to make him see stars. He turned over, determined to see what else this bunny could do. He wearily stood up, swaying a little. Just before he stood completely up, his legs decided that he needed to rest and gave way underneath him, causing him to fall. He was unconscious before he hit the mat.

The crowd was silent as they registered what just happened. The fight had lasted less than twenty seconds, everything moving incredibly fast. After a couple moments, the crowd erupted as they just witnessed one of their own take down an elite and veteran ZIA agent in less than thirty seconds. Judy couldn't believe that she just took down Jack Savage, the fifth best agent the ZIA had. However, now she had to jump all the way up to the number one seed. Nick Wilde did not have a better, he was the best there was. Plain and simple, but she figured if she could beat the number five, why not the number one. Wait, wouldn't that make HER number one?

Nick woke Jack up just as unceremoniously as he had Francine. With a bucket of ice cold water after he was carried off the ring. The hare sputtered for a second before sitting up and looking around. Nick was leaning close to Jack so they could speak without being heard.

"She's very good Nick," whispered Jack,"Better than any of the others by far. I know we said that we'd play cards for who gets who, but I think you should be the one to train her further. I'll take Delgatto, he's fast and incredibly smart. But I feel you can train her and make her far better than I could."

"Sounds good, old friend." Nick smiled warmly at Jack as he put his paw out to help him up. Nick then went over to the microphone and picked it up. He cleared his throat, "The two that will been chosen have been decided upon." He could see Judy's ears going slack at not getting to fight him, "But as the rules state, this recruit must still face me in the ring. So let us finish the evaluation so you may all go home to your families, and preparations for the ceremony of accepting to new agents into the agency may begin." He placed the microphone back once more and stepped into the ring himself.

He sized up Judy, but knew that wasn't going to be good enough. If he was going to beat her, he was going to need to concentrate and never let her out of his sight. Jack gave the signal and the two remained standing. Nick couldn't get any idea about what she was planning. But the same went for the other side. Judy was trying to find some weakness in his defenses but was coming up short.

She decided to just test the water a little, taking a couple steps forward, seeing whether or not he will retaliate. However he didn't, though he looked slightly more tense, as if waiting for an ensuing attack. When none came he seemed to relax slightly.

As soon as he did she lunged and just barely missed his face with her left foot. He had to dive backwards to evade the lunge. Judy skidded to a halt a few feet from the edge of the ring. 'He sure is fast,' she thought, but she knew that if he had been even slightly slower to evade her, she would have connected with his muzzle.

This time he was the one to act, but to her surprise, it was much faster than she could have ever anticipated. 'He is TOO fast,' she thought as she just barely dove out of the way of his blur of a fist. He immediately turned towards her and performed the same leap, but this time he knew where she was going and smashed his fist into the side of her face.

Judy saw the hit coming and grabbed his paw, transferring the momentum she just placed into the mat and the force of the hit to her face to send Nick flying over her. She landed on her back with enough force to knock the wind out of her, but she also saw that Nick wasn't doing much better. As she climbed unsteadily to her feet, she saw that Nick was up and somehow now looked like nothing had happened. He grinned, took one step forward, placing all of his weight on his front foot and pushed off at an incredible speed as he slammed his left fist into her stomach, once more knocking the wind out of he but also sending her flying across the ring.

She landed just inches away from the edge of the ring, only to feel a padded foot on her chest a second later, signifying her losing to Nick. Though she hadn't expected to win, she hadn't expected to push him as much as she had. He was clearly sweating and trying to catch his breath, as was she, though she was trying to find her breath after being hit so forcefully. She was very satisfied with how well she had done. There was a sharp pain in her chest at the slight pressure the fox used when he placed his foot on her.

Nick put out his paw out to help her up. He knew he put a lot of force into that last hit. Possibly too much. He had put his foot on her chest to not only keep her from getting up, but to assess how much damage he had actually done. He definitely felt a couple broken ribs. 'Damn,' he thought,'I had wanted to start training as soon as possible, but she may be out of commission for a week because of that.'

After he helped her out of the ring, ignoring her complaints, he knelt down to her. "Alright look, I have some good news and some bad news. Good news, Jack has agreed to allow me to take you as my underling. Bad news, we can't start training for about a week because I can tell that last hit broke at least one of your ribs. Sorry about that," his ears went flat against his head as he said this.

"Haha. It's okay, I can tell that I gave you no choice. Oh don't give me that 'I don't know what you're taking about look'. You were just as winded as I was at the end of the fight. I was pushing you and you know it." The unsaid fact was that neither of them had been pushed to their 'limit' as they both could have fought harder, but didn't want to permanently hurt the other.

"Okay fine. Yeah, ya' did give me a run for my money. But maybe one day, I'll be be the one with the broken ribs." This made her giggle. He found it kinda cute actually. Oddly enough, he also found the need to protect the injured bunny. Odd, something to explore on a later date. But first...

Nick stood up and walked back over to the microphone, "Ladies and gentle-mammals. We will now be officially declaring the two chosen recruits that will be inducted into the ZIA. The first is the smallest, yet clearly most gifted of all of them. Rookie Agent Hopps." Nick motioned for her to stand next to him. "Agent Hopps will be taken under my wing to be trained one-on-one. Her prowess as a fighter along with her strategic abilities and intellectual capabilities are some of the many things that will be honed to a fine point. Please give her a round of applause. Unfortunately, she has sustained several broken ribs, but will start training as soon as she is healed up. I am now going to hand things over to Agent Savage so that he may announce his choice."

Nick handed the microphone to Jack, who had to use two paws to get a grip on it. Nick had gotten Judy to sit down on the edge of the ring as Jack spoke, "My choice was not as simple as Agent Wilde's. Judy is clearly the best fighter I have seen in a long time, and will be trained by the top agent in ZIA. I have no doubt that she will go far. However, there was only one clear choice for myself. This recruit is incredibly intelligent and has shown himself more than capable in a fight. Please give a round of applause for Rookie Agent Delgatto." The crowd applauded the wolf, who seemed shocked that he was going to be a ZIA agent. The crowd of officers them surrounded the two new agents to congratulate them. More so Judy, who many marveled at her skill and speed.

Chief Bogo was the last to speak to Judy, "I am pleasantly surprised. From the top mammal in you class at the academy to being trained by the top mammal in the ZIA. Remind me to never get in a fight with you." This made Judy giggle. Bogo shook her paw and then ushered everyone away from the four agents. The three that not been chosen looked rather upset that they would be returning to their mundane jobs as police officers.

Nick helped Judy back to the chopper, trying not to upset her ribs. They were certainly going to have a lot of fun together as they set out on this long adventure.


	4. The Ceremony

The hustle and bustle of the city was drowned out by the sea of blue that had formed in the courtyard of the ZPD Headquarters. The many officers were talking about past assignments, family or just regular conversation. It was Saturday, so the members of Precinct 1 had the day off. The sun was high above their heads, though it was September, so it wasn't hot out.

The courtyard had been adorned with decorations and insignias. There was an insignia for the fox family with the insignia of the bunny family and whenever these two were near each other, there was an insignia for partnership and trust, which was also the insignia for love, oddly enough. There was also the insignia of a hare family and a wolf family, but between them was the insignia of brotherhood. Many of the officers had passed the joke of the fox and bunny actually being joined by love instead of partnership, but the Chief would silence this disrespect with a single look.

There were several tables that had refreshments spread across them. These included cookies, tofu, acorns, chicken, bugs, grass, hay, and carrots to name a few of the hundreds of foods on the table. Their were also sugary drinks like punch and soda, while there were natural drinks like orange juice and water. The courtyard looked fancy to say the least.

There were over six-hundred chairs, for the officers of other precincts along with the agents of the ZIA. Chief Bogo had been told that there were going to be a total of three agents other than the four he had already met. It was still hard for him to think of Hopps and Delgatto as agents, let alone call them Agents Hopps and Delgatto. He chuckled at some of the memories he had with Delgatto, though Judy had only been an officer for a day.

He sighed as he remembered the way he had treated her. Even though she had been irritatingly over enthusiastic, he had been a little hard on her by not only giving her parking duty, but then making her do 100 tickets by the end of the day. She ended up getting well over that, trying to show off no doubt and prove him wrong, when he had seen her in the crowd when the ZIA agents first arrived, he had the urge to keep her from them, so she wouldn't make a fool out of the Precinct. He was sure that she was going to fail miserably in the tests they would give them.

Boy, had he been wrong about her. Not only did she ace their tests, she beat the fifth best ZPI agent in a fight and pushed the top agent to his limits, eventually being chosen to become his underling. Bogo felt sick to his stomach the day he heard this because of the guilt. She had told him that she forgave him and that she didn't have any hard feelings, but Bogo still felt bad.

He was shaken from his thoughts by repeating 'whap whap whap' sound coming from the distance. "Get to your positions!" Bogo bellowed at the crowd of blue. They all lined up in front of the concession stands facing the rows of chairs, saluting and looking straight forward. Bogo stood with his paws behind his back as the black helicopter came into view. Within minutes, the helicopter was setting down. Bogo stood at attention, waiting for the doors to open and the ZIA Agents to approach him.

What felt like an eternity passed before the propeller on the helicopter stopped spinning and the doors slid open. The ZIA agents dismounted their bird and approached the chief as a whole, the fox, hare, wolf and bandage wrapped bunny leading the group towards him.

It seemed that Hopps still wasn't fully healed from the hit she took from her teacher in the fight. Bogo had physically cringed when it happened, but he also knew that Hopps wasn't going to stop fighting until she was down for the count. The fox had done the only thing he could do without doing more harm. Bogo knew how difficult it was to gauge the power you are putting into a hit, but one where you literally throw your whole body into one punch must be even more difficult. She didn't look like she was in any pain though, so that was good at least.

The agents were all dressed in suits, the women didn't were the black ties, but the men did. They all introduced themselves.

"Agent Nathan Soute," said a lion, "Rank 4 agent."

"Agent Shiva Linett," said a tigress, "Rank 3 agent."

"Agent Brett Nordman," said a hyena, "Rank 2 agent."

Nick approached the buffalo, "I'd hope that you know the rest of us by now. Especially your former officers." Nick was smiling warmly at the buffalo. Bogo was constantly confused about the foxes behavior, some times he was cold and unforgiving and others he was cheery and joking, even when the situation didn't call for it. It was very odd, but he was good at his job and seemed loyal to the ones he cared for.

This was obvious with Judy who he had helped down from the helicopter so she wouldn't upset her ribs and even now was allowing her to lean on him so that she could reduce the pressure on her core. It was heartwarming to see the bond that the two already shared, even though Nick was the reason that she had to use him as support.

"Alright," said Bogo, "The other precincts are on their way here, but shouldn't be more than half an hour, please help yourselves to anything on the tables. This is a celebration after all. Please enjoy yourselves," said the chief with a warm smile.

For the next half hour, the agents mingled with the mass of officers. They were asked about their lives, what it was like to be a ZIA agent among other things.

True to his word, twenty-seven minutes later all available officers were present. They began the two hour long ceremony to induct Judy and Delgatto into the ZIA. After the ceremony, they returned to the celebration aspect of things. They laughed and cheered. Nathan was asked if he had actually taken down four hitmen at one time, proceeding to prove himself against six officers, ending the tussle in less than twenty seconds. He was then rewarded with a beer from Bogo. They sang with Shiva Linett and Delgatto leading. Bogo had to admit that this was the most fun that he'd had in years.

Someone had found speakers as there was now music playing. Some of the officers danced and made fools of themselves with their partners. Nick was sipping at his punch idly as Judy approached him. "Hey slick, you wanna dance?" Nick nearly spit his drink out.

He looked down at her wide eyed, not at all expecting to be asked to dance. Judy managed to drag him over to the other dancers through his sputtering. Once he was there, he started to have fun. By the time the party was starting to die down, the sun was setting. About half of the police force had gone back to their precincts or had gone home to their families.

Nick went back over to the cooler to get another cup of punch. He started talking to a polar bear about politics when he heard a screech. His head whipped around towards a large gathering of officers. He heard Judy's screech again and let his cup drop to the ground. The polar bear he had been talking to was clearly a little freaked out by Nick's demeanor as he strode towards the center of the crowd. As he walked, the animals saw the look on his face and just avoided him, fearing his wrath. Nick was even more pissed when he saw what was happening at the center of the crowd.

Brett Nordman, a little more tipsy than was reasonable, was holding Judy above the ground. She was trying to get free, but couldn't get leverage over the splitting pain in her side. "So you're too good for me to take you to my room? Is that it? Am I too ugly for you to let me screw your little bunny brains out?" Nordman cackled, "Because if that's the case," he extended his claws and placed them on her cheek, "I can always even the playing field. So how about it bunny?"

"Put me down you drunk bastard! I said no! Leave me alone, please!" she was starting to cry as she couldn't escape his grasp.

"NORDMAN!!!!!!" Nick bellowed at the hyena, who immediate looked over at him. A smile spread across his lips. Nick continued to glare at the hyena, "Put her down, now. You don't want things to get physical," Nick threatened.

Brett looked between the crying bunny and the furious fox before he said, "Make me, Wilde."

Nick's only response was to crack his neck and remove his blazer from his suit along with his tie. He never once took his eyes off the hyena. Nick took two steps forward before rushing Brett. The hyena tried to kick him, but Nick surprised him by leaping into the air and landing on his leg. Nick then used said leg as a platform to propel himself off of, and snatch Judy from the drunkard's grasp. Nick landed, rolling into a kneeling position a few feet away.

He handed Judy over to Shiva Linett, "Make sure she isn't hurt. I'll deal with Nordman." The tigress just nodded in response as Nick turned back towards the hyena who was looking at his paw as if seeing it for the first time.

When he saw Nick striding towards him he snarled, baring his teeth. He extended his claws as Nick did the same. The entire crowd made some more room as they all stepped back a few feet. Brett lunged at Nick who dove to the side and immediately propelled himself at the hyena's stomach with his foot extending. Brett reacted fast and swatted Nick away. Nick took the force of the impact and used it to pull the hyena over his head as he rotated his body, throwing Brett through the air. Nick landed on his feet and turned around to watch Brett glide to his feet. Nordman growled as he flung himself at Nick, who simply spun out of his was and slammed foot on the back of the hyena's neck, sprawling him on the ground a few feet away.

"Stay down Brett. You can't beat me." Nordman refused to listen as he once more got to his feet. The hyena cackled as he spun around, pointing his pistol at Nick.

"I think I just did. Now move aside so I can get back to what I was doing." The hyena had a twisted grin on his face as he chambered a round into the pistol. Nick eyed the weapon wearily, looking around at the crowd.

'Dammit,' he thought, 'If I make him miss, he'll hit a bystander. Screw you Nordman.' Nick sighed, but then got an idea. "You'll have to shoot me before I let you near her. I told you the last time you did something like this that that was your final chance. Now put the weapon down so I can arrest you, or continue to behave recklessly and get yourself killed. It's your choice, Brett." Nick had to stall the hyena a few seconds longer as he slowly moved in front of Nathan, who could tell what he was planning. Once Nick was in position he made his move, he dove out of the way, grabbing his gun from it's holster at the back of his belt and fired at the hyena. Brett fired at the same time, bur hit Nathan instead of Nick. If the bullet had hit Nick it would have been game over, but the lion took the shot and knew he would need a few stitches, but they had used similar plans before in such desperate situations.

Nick's bullet found it's target in the hyena's shoulder, spinning him before he hit the ground. Nick kept his gun pointed at him as he approached. When he was a few feet away, Nordman stood up and lunged at Nick, who proceeded to back flip, slamming his feet into the hyena's face, breaking his nose and cracking his jaw. The animal was unfazed as he proceeded to pin Nick to the ground. Nick kicked him in the family jewels, causing him to be released for a few seconds, long enough for him to get free, but not long enough to avoid Brett's fist that hit him in the side. Nick was launched a few feet. Unsteadily coming to his feet as he glared at his opponent.

"Last chance Brett, surrender or you die." Brett made his decision clear when he ran at the fox who proceeded to place three rounds in the hyena's skull. Brett collapsed to the ground, blood draining from the tightly grouped holes in his forehead. Nick holstered his gun and turned towards Judy, who ran over to him and proceeded to clamp him into a spine crushing hug. "Carrots, please release me so I can breathe." The bunny reluctantly let go and beamed as she looked up at Nick. He dropped his own smile when he saw the tears in her eyes. He knelt down before her, "Judy, what's wrong?" She quickly looked away, clearly embarrassed. Nick sighed, "Look, Judy. If I am going to train you, I need to know what's going on in that head of yours. So, please. Talk to me."

Judy seemed to hesitate for a moment, "It's just that, well, it's a little scary to think that a 'good guy'," she said, gesturing towards the dead body, "could do something like that."

Nick chuckled at the notion, "Carrot, you're faulting him for what he almost did, even though you just witnessed me kill somebody."

"But that' different-" Judy was cut off.

"How?" Nick said, trying to teach her something, "How is it any different. Both are crimes and sins. Why should one be excused, while the other causes him to be damned to a bullet to the skull?"

"Well, er, you did it to protect someone and he made you do it."

"Wrong," he said pointing a finger at her, "Self defense does not give you the right to kill as long as there is another choice. And yes, there was another choice, but I did the thing that would end the fight sooner." He took a somehow sterner tone, "He didn't have to die. Even though I gave him choices, I didn't have to kill him, but I was angry and that clouded my judgement. But that is no excuse. You are right though. For better or worse, I am not going to be faulted for ending his life, as he was putting innocent lives in danger. But that doesn't mean that killing him made me or anyone else here feel any better. At the end of the day, he was till a man who had dreams and aspirations that will now never come to fruition. And that haunts you forever. Don't you ever forget that, because someday you will have the fate of an animal's life in your hands and will only have a few short moments to make the best decision."

Judy looked clearly ashamed. Nick placed a comforting paw on her shoulder, "Alright, that's my lecture for the day. Truth be told, I'm completely beat. Only so much social interaction for one day, or month for that matter. But I can tell that you are just as tired as I am, so why don't we wrap up the party, head back to headquarters, change your bandages, and get some well deserved sleep, AGENT Hopps." She hit him on the arm for mocking her by putting more emphasis on the 'Agent' than necessary. Nick chuckled, "I deserved that," he stood up and ruffled the fur in between her ears on the top of her head.

Judy let out a little yawn that Nick for some odd reason found incredibly sexy. He acquitted this to him being tired after the fight. Though it had lasted only two minutes, it took a lot out of him.

Nick and Judy hooked up with Jack and the others, heading back to the helicopter after saying goodbye to the remaining officers. When Nick approached Bogo, he said, "We will have a team remove the body in a few minutes, he will have a proper military burial sometime next week." At Bogo's look of surprise, Nick let out an exasperated sigh, "One action does not erase the fact that he has contributed to over five dozen classified missions and raids that have given him over twenty medals of honor. I would appreciate if you did not disrespect one of our fallen by acting surprised that we wish to honor the memory of a beloved ally and friend. Are we clear?"

Bogo was taken aback, finding surprise in how intimidating the agent could be. He sputtered out some sort of response that he couldn't remember. The fox walked away with a huff.

 

Nick was really beginning to feel the effects of the only hit that actually did any damage to his body. Though only a bruise, it was large, dark and painful. he had taken his shirt off in the helicopter to relieve the injury from the excruciating pain caused by the light touch of the cloth. Judy was now helping dress the wound, helping put numbing cream on the afflicted location.

When she first saw him take off his shirt she had gotten really excited for some reason. It was a if she were some schoolgirl who was watching the cute bucks swimming. She mentally shook the thought from her head as she finished applying the ointment.

Why did she keep having thoughts like that?


	5. Nick's Past

Nick was looking absent mindedly out the window of his room. The funeral had been nice. Even though Nick was the one to kill him, nobody, not even his son gave him any grief. They just tried to console him and attempted to joke about Brett's constant stubbornness. It had been a joke that he had a thick enough head to smash through a brick wall.

Damn, he already missed the jackass. Nick knew he wasn't a bad guy, he jut had some issues like everyone else. From his wife leaving him to learning that he had cancer. He had definitely not been dealt a fair hand when it was his turn to draw. Nick Sighed, fogging up the window slightly.

Nick's ears were flat against his head, he still couldn't believe that the hyena was gone. It's unbelievable, the man had been through everything and survived.

Several times, Nick had considered that Brett had used him to go out on his own terms, rather than let the cancer consume him. It definitely was something the jerk would do, but Nick didn't want to believe it. Nick hoped that it was a conscious choice and not a death brought on by too much alcohol, but neither options were had a better out come, or made him feel any better.

Nick's ears perked up at the light rapping on the door. Nick looked around the room frantically for something to put on over his chest, finding a relatively lean shirt. By the time he had slipped it over his head, the person had knocked again, this time accompanied by a voice.

"Nick," said Judy with a worried tone, "You never met me for lunch and I was worried that something had happened to you."

Shit! He had completely forgotten that he had made plans with Judy for lunch at a really nice restaurant. They had been planning ti for two days, how did he forget? "Uh, no, I'm alright. The doors unlocked by the way, if you want to come in." A few heartbeats later, he heard the creak of the door open and the click of it closing again.

A few more beats and he could hear the pitter patter of bunny feet on carpet as she approached him. She put a paw on his back, he didn't move as he continued to look out the window. "Nick, what's wrong? You're not usually like this." Nick didn't answer until Judy grabbed his chin, making his eyes go wide as she made him look at her. "Don't make me use your own words against you," Nick looked shocked but didn't answer. "Fine, we'll play it your way," Judy put on her cutest puppy eyes look as possible before she spoke again, "If you're going to train me, I need to know what's going on in your head. Please?"

Nick tried to look away to hide his smirk from her, but she caught it, "Well we're making progress. But seriously Nick, please talk to me. I want to help in any way I can." Nick grumbled something derogatory about bunnies to which she responded by kicking him in the shin. "Apologize, and every time you say no, I'll just kick you again in the same spot."

Nick sighed, "I'm sorry for calling you an intrusive farmer's daughter, I'm just not myself right now." Judy sat next to him on his bed. She hugged him lightly, looking up at him.

"Can you tell me why?"

"I- I guess," he took a deep breath before continuing, "It's probably best if I start from the beginning. If I tell you the reason, it'll sound odd without some other crucial information. I didn't have a lot of friends as a kid, in fact I didn't have any. Nobody trusted foxes, even though I'd never given them an reason to distrust me personally. So I tried to join the Junior Ranger Scouts. I was...rejected, to say the least." He could tell that she was going to bug him about it until he told the whole story, "Fine, I was beaten and muzzled because I was the only predator and a fox to make things worse. I ran out of the building we were in as fast as I could. I threw my Ranger Scout hat into the street, hoping someone would run it over." Nick got a smile on his face for some reason now.

"But then something happened that changed my life forever. A tiger same up to me and handed my hat back to me. I asked him why he gave me back something I didn't want. He kinda gave me a funny look and asked me if I threw the hat away because I didn't want it or because someone else didn't want me to wear it. He told me that no matter how many times we get pushed down, I always had to get up and prove the naysayers wrong. He helped me get into a different group of Ranger Scouts. I learned later on that he was a commander in the Zootopai Military. He was the reason that I joined the military."

"During boot camp, I met a hare named Jack Savage who looks suspiciously similar to a certain hare down the hall. But the odd part was that he was the one to initiate our first conversation. I had never had a prey willingly talk to me before, so I was a little bewildered. But we became fast friends and rose through the ranks of the military. Within two years, against all odds, the first hare and fox were also the first commanders of our species. We were much more motivated than the others to prove ourselves so we strove to be the very best that we could. Six weeks after we were promoted, we were told that the fighting in the area we were in had subsided enough for us to return to the Zootopia Military Base on the main land. Another two weeks and two ZIA agents arrived to evaluate us. One of these agents was a hyena named Brett Nordman, he was currently the top agent. When it came time for the evaluation to determine the two they would be bringing back with them, Jack and I far surpassed the others. Jack beat his teacher, but I beat both of them with ease. Brett never stood a chance," Nick chuckled at the memory of beating both professional killers and spies as if they were common thugs.

"Brett and I had worked on several missions and raids and had considered each other as brothers. Brett had lost everything in his life. His wife over something that she did that she took out on him along with his life as he learned that he had liver cancer a year ago. He had nothing to live for, but also so much to as well. He had so much that he could still do, but was cut short for reasons that are still unclear. For all I know, he may have used me as a way to end his life on his own terms instead of falling victim to cancer." Nick looked out the window again, deep in thought.

"I actually hope that is true and I didn't kill him because he had too much to drink. Though neither would change the fact that I killed him," Nick's voice cracked, on the verge of tears, "if he did it knowing I would kill him, then I would be able to move on easier knowing that this is what he wanted." Nick's eyes started to water. Judy saw this and looked at the wall, biting her bottom lip.

Judy had no idea what to say to this. She crossed her arms across her chest self-consciously. She had never had anything like this happen to her. Was this what this job did to people? Destroyed their emotions, ripping them apart bit by bit? Always questioning whether they made the right decision? Judy leaned over to Nick and wrapped her arms around him. "Nick, it's okay. Nobody blames you for what you had to do. You were doing your job, protecting others even as your own life was put in danger. Even if you don't think so, you'll always be a hero to so many people. Even those that don't know your name, but instead know what you have done."

Nick looked down at Judy, bewildered by what she was saying. "I'm a hero?" he thought, thoughts of the people he had saved, directly and indirectly, the evil hat he had stopped, and most importantly, the thought of someone showing him he was more than the bad things he had done flowed through his mind. He let a smile spread across his face as he returned her hug. His tail swishing on the bed in happiness.

Judy heard a repeated *plit* sound, but couldn't figure out what it was coming from. She looked up and saw that Nick was crying, his tears falling on her ears. She smiled wider and hugged Nick harder. "It's okay to cry some times, Nick. You don't always have to hide your emotions. Especially around me. No matter what you have done or will do, I will always be by your side. Never you forget that."

Nick started stroking her ears. Judy chattered her teeth at the feeling, a select few very primal emotions flooding her body as her best friend stoked one of the most sensitive parts of her body. She snuggled closer to him, nuzzling his side, burying her face in his orange fur. Judy loved how soft it was, it was like a forest of orange fluff.

Judy suddenly opened her eyes when she felt something wrap around her torso. She looked over her shoulder to see that Nick had wrapped his tail around her protectively. She didn't really understand the changes that were rapidly happening to their friendship, but she felt safe and content. She didn't want to leave his arms, wanting to stay just the way they were forever.

Judy's whole face turned bright red when she felt Nick's lips on the top of her head. "He kissed me?" she thought, "I mean not that I'm arguing, it did feel kinda nice." She looked up at him and took in the scene that made her heart melt.

His bright emerald green eyes accentuated his reddish-orange fur that blended into a cream colored under coat that began under his muzzle and went down his chest. There was a comforting smile spread across his lips a he looked upon the little bunny girl who's heart he had managed to capture, but at the price of sacrificing his own to her. Her large eyes always held so much kindness and hope within them, something he missed about himself. Her plain grey fur accentuated her bright purple eyes. Her tiny pink nose twitched as he could see her thinking about him kissing her.

Nick took advantage of the situation and took his chances as he planted a kiss on her tiny lips. She went rigid at first with surprise, but slowly relaxed, melting into the intimate action. She moved her little paw up to his cheek and held onto the fur. He enjoyed the feeling of her fingers laced in his fur, he shuddered slightly as the little bunny stood up in between his legs so that they were at the same height as the kiss continued. Neither wanted it to end, but knew they would have to breathe eventually. Nick placed his umber paw on her curved back, pulling her closer to him. His ears were flat against the back of his head, all of his attention on the ecstasy this little bunny was providing him with.

Judy felt the heat radiating off of his body. She placed the hand not currently entangled in Nick's cheek fur, to steady herself against his chest, placing her hand flat against his chest. She ran her fingers through the fur, feeling the softness flow through the gaps in between her fingers. She felt his tail wrap more tightly around her, pulling her even closer to him. Every so often she could feel his teeth scrape against her lip. She shuddered with excitement at the thought of him nipping her, making her bleed. Marking her as his and only his. She could smell his musk through his cologne by now, exciting her. His natural scent was intoxicating, a mix of desire, lust and friendship.

Neither knew how long they stayed locked in their first kiss before they reluctantly pulled apart for air. Both of them looked flustered, their faces red form the exertion and emotions running through out their bodies. Though their bodies wanted to do much more intimate things, the look they gave each other reassured the other that they didn't want to rush things too fast either. They settled for cuddling and kissing, sharing their warmth and emotional bond with the other.

Though clothes stayed on, it didn't matter to either of them. They didn't need sex to feel close to each other. Just the fact that they trusted the other enough to be this intimate was enough to express their love. These sweet moments ended abruptly when Judy's phone went off.

Judy was caught off guard and hit answer, without noticing it that it was a muzzle time request. The screen got brighter and more colorful as two bunnies appeared on it. One was a dull tan color with brown eyes, Nick guessed that this was Judy's father, while her mother was slightly shorter, she looked distinguishably more like Judy. She had her purple eyes and grey fur, but was more heavy set. The two rabbits were smiling and looking happy to see their daughter.

"Hey Judy!" exclaimed her father. He had over-all's on over a red plaid shirt and a straw hat upon his head. His ears were shorter than Judy's and her mother's compared to their body size. they poked out just a little from underneath the big hat. He seemed like the stereotypical farmer. His wife was wearing a pink shirt and grey pants. Nick guessed that she took are of the children while the father worked in the fields.

"How have you been sweethe-" his smile was gone in an instant and was replaced by a look of fear as he saw a large orange mass moving behind her. "What the hell is behind you? Are you in danger? Do you need me to call for help?!?" He was becoming frantic so Nick took this opportunity to slide closer to Judy and take the phone from her hands, but still holding it in a way that she could see her parents and they could see her.

Nick flipped onto his back, holding the phone above them. He reached around Judy and put his arm over around her shoulder and she snuggled up to him, laying her head on his chest. "Now I don't know if she has gotten a chance to tell you yet, but your daughter no longer works at the ZPD," he let this sink in, watching as their faces became worried and surprised and quite understandably confused.

"What do you mean she doesn't work for the ZPD anymore. Did you have something to do with this, fox?!?" Judy's father shouted at Nick who just kept smiling kindly. He waited for him to settle down before he continued, but he just kept going on and on about how he would find him if her did something to destroy his little girl's dreams.

Nick was about to interrupt him, when his wife put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him and said, "Stu! That's enough, clearly he has something more to say or he would have hung up. So just shut up and listen to what he has to say. Judy doesn't look sad anyways," she turned towards Judy, "Are you sad dear?"

Judy giggled at her mother making Stu look like an idiot, "No mom, I'm actually quite happy with where my life is going. But I think I should let AGENT Wilde tell you the reason."

Both of her parents eyes went wide as they heard Judy call the fox Agent Wilde, "Agent? As in the ZBI? Your a government agent?" Stu asked , getting back into a frenzy, "Did you threaten her job if she didn't sleep with you? What did you do to my little girl?"

Nick chuckled, "I have done nothing of the sort Mr. Hopps. And I am also not a member of the ZBI. I am a member of the ZIA, the Zootopia Intelligence Agency," he put his paw up before Stu could comment, "Two and a half months ago, I was sent with another agent to the ZPD Headquarters for recruitment. We had just lost seven agents resolving a gang war and we needed to regain our operational strength," he let this sink in before continuing, "When Agent Savage, a hare, and I arrived, there were 55 officers waiting to be evaluated for a chance at becoming a ZIA agent. Out of those 55, your daughter was one of the top five, actually she was THE top officer. Her scores far surpassed the next best officer."

Both parents looked astonished by the information that they had never been told. They were engrossed by the story now and were waiting for him to continue. "Those five were taken to the ZIA headquarters and trained under a grueling and punishing training program far harder and more strenuous than the academy could dream. But despite that, your daughter completed the training and proceeded to be challenged to a fight for the final test."

Now Stu looked mad, "You fought my daughter? Did you hurt her?"

"Yes, but in my defense, I couldn't have beaten her if I hadn't broken two ribs with my last hit. I did not wish to hurt her, but the fight had been strenuous and exhausting for both of us. But let's backtrack about three minutes. She first faced off against Agent Savage, the fifth best agent in the ZIA. None of the other officers were able to hit him with enough force to do any damage. Your daughter however, surprised him with her first hit, nearly breaking his jaw with a kick from underneath him. She then pulled him out of the air after missing a kick that was supposed to hit her in the forehead. She knocked out the fifth best agent with two blows."

Her parents looked astonished. They could not believe that she had accomplished so much. "Wait a second, that doesn't explain why she is lying in bed with you," said the Bonny.

"Actually, it does. Jack Savage is the number five agent. I am the number one. After beating an agent that good, she was immediately pushed past her fellow officers and immediately taken under my wing to train further. Jack chose a wolf who was far behind Judy's skill, but was still the next best so Jack didn't have a choice, to his disappointment. Anyways, a week passed and we went to the ceremony that officially made her a member of the ZIA, during the after party something happened. A friend of mine, the second best agent tried to do something that was not going to be taken lightly, as I had warned him the last time he had done something like that. He knew he wouldn't beat me in a fight, but he was dying of cancer anyways so he may have very well used me to end his life on his own terms."

The two bunnies now went ballistic, "Holy shit! You killed him?" they screeched.

"Yes, he had put many lives in danger, along with attempting to rape your daughter, if I might add. He did not back down any of the three times I warned him to and the final time was the last straw. I did not want to but it was my duty to end the conflict without any casualties. The only way to ensure that was to end his life with a bullet to the head. It was not a happy time. I suffered minor internal bleeding from a lucky hit and have only recently been cleared for duty again. In that time, your daughter and I have grown quite close. That tends to happen when you rely on each other for different reasons. Her because I am the only one who can teach her how to become better at her job. And I need her because," he took a deep breath and looked off to the side, shame clearly written on his face, "there are parts of my past that I regret. Your daughter provides me with something more precious than even diamond." He now looked directly at the two bunnies on the screen, "She gives me my sanity. She is a friend that has already shown that she is compassionate and caring. She is brilliant, coming up with solutions for problems that I create to test her just as fast as I can create them. She is brave and strong, she isn't afraid to speak her mind or shake me out of a foul mood. She is precious to me. I would give my life to keep her out of harms way," he smiled and planted a kiss on the top of her head, causing her to smile and run her fingers through his fur, snuggling closer to him.

Bonny and Stu had some very different opinions on the relationship. "Aw, that's so sweet," said Bonny. Stu grumbled something that made her kick him in the shin. The man cried out in pain, which made Judy snort, trying to suppress an outburst of laughter. Bonny turned back towards the camera, "Alright, Judy. Your father is in one of his moods, so I'm gonna let you go so I can knock some sense into him. Bye sweetie." She was about to end the call when her ears shot up straight, "Oh, Agent Wilde. Do you happen to have a first name?"

Nick chuckled, "Yes ma'am. My name is Nicholas Wilde, but you can call me Nick." He smiled at her, his ears at full height.

"Alright Nick, take care of my little girl alright?" This got an immediate complaint about being able take care of herself from Judy, "Yes, yes. I know dear. Alright, bye you two!" She touched the camera and the screen went black with only the words 'CALL ENDED' in red on the screen.

Judy sighed as she looked at Nick. "Sorry about that." This got a full on laugh from Nick, "It's not funny. They can really be embarrassing sometimes. Don't laugh when I'm trying to be serious, you jerk." she playfully hit his shoulder.

They cuddled for another hour or so before Judy decided to reluctantly head back to her room. "Don't want anyone to get any ideas," she said.

Nick looked confused, "About what? If you think people in the agency will say something about us sharing a room, then you're wrong. Nobody here would care, there are so many other things for them to focus on other than a new couple in the building. Trust me, it's not like the ZPD where you can get transferred because of a relationship. Mostly because we aren't in the spotlight like they are. Also because people just don't care," he patted the bed beside him for her to return to him, "Besides, tomorrow is the weekend and I have an idea how we should spend it. It'll be loud, energetic and a hell of a lot of fun. But I'll only take you if you stay here tonight."

"What's the matter? You afraid of the dark?" she teased him. Though she eagerly returned to his side on the bed.

They cuddled until they fell asleep in each other's arms.


	6. The Angel

Nick was sitting on his couch in his hotel room. Judy was sitting in his lap. Nick's chin was resting on the top of her head. The TV was on a channel that had a marathon of Star Boars going all day. It was a little after eight o'clock, the sun was starting to set. Nick had a window open to let the cool autumn breeze flow through the room. He also enjoyed the way it ruffled his fur. Nick's tale was laying lazily across Judy's lap.

Judy was pouting. "I told you Carrots, the surprise wouldn't be a surprise if I told you what it was," Nick said smugly. Judy continued to pout.

She wasn't really mad and Nick knew this. She looked up at him after ten minutes and said, "Come on, please? Can you tell me if it is an object or something else vague? Please?"

Nick closed his eyes and gave her a smug grin, "Sorry, sweetheart, no can do. I told you it was going to be a surprise, and I'm not changing my mind." He ruffled the top of her head, "But don't worry, you're going to really enjoy it when it's time."

Judy crossed her arms and huffed. She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to act upset, but couldn't keep a straight face. She giggled, "Alright, fine. You win. I'll wait like a good bunny."

Nick kissed her forehead, "You can be a naughty bunny in the bedroom if you want sometime," he said wiggling his eyebrows at her.

Judy blushed and pushed his face away playfully, "Oh, stop that. You're so bad. One of these days you're gonna make me permanently red from all the embarrassment."

They goofed around for another three hours. At eleven o'clock, he got up and turned to Judy, "Alright, Carrots. We'll take the employee's elevator to reach the bottom floor and go to my car."

Judy got up and walked after Nick, "Why didn't you tell me that there was an elevator that could take us down. I would have gone out some time ago!"

Nick looked over his shoulder when they reached the elevator, "Because, we can't use this all the time, otherwise, it'd be clear that there are other rooms up here. This is supposed to be a front remember? Besides, it was nice to have you all to myself." He laced his fingers together and placed them behind his head as he stepped into the elevator. Judy pressed the button for the bottom floor and they got off after a couple minutes.

Nick and Judy got into his black and red 1975 Mustang. The inside was completely black with red stitching on the seats and the dashboard glowed red. After Judy picked up her jaw, she climbed in, buckled up and let Nick drive her for half an hour to a large flat open area, that is except for a large stage with fireworks, lights, fog machines, and other exciting and colorful devices. She couldn't see except for the lights on the stage. The rest was pitch black due to it being five minutes to midnight.

"Nick, why are we here?" asked Judy. She saw a symbol at the top of the stage that clearly could light up but was currently not. The symbol was a fox head with angel wings on either side of it with headphones on its head. Judy climbed out of the car and started following Nick towards the stage.

"Have you ever heard of a musician by the name of 'The Forbidden Angel'?" asked Nick. Judy said no. "Not surprising. Anyways, he's a DJ, one of the best in Zootopia. He's an albino fox and also my youngest cousin. The guy's only been active for two years and he has already made over two million dollars. He was a hit right off the bat and is going to be playing here tonight. Actually he should be here now." After the two strolled towards the rear of the stage, Nick yelled over to a trailer with the same symbol on the side of it in gold, "Yo, Angel! How's my little cousin doing with his white butt?"

A moment later, a fox with a black headset came out of the door. He had red eyes and completely white fur, an albino, just like Nick said. Even his claws were white. He was taller than Nick, had a muscular build, and was incredibly handsome. The fox had a white cloak on that went down to his knees and had left the front of it open slightly. He had a light grey tank-top underneath it, white shorts and white shoes. All of his clothing had the same symbol as on the stage and the trailer on them in gold. That is, except for his cloak. It had the fox head in a spiraling rainbow while the headset and wings were in a vibrant light blue on the back.

He walked over to Nick and pulled him into a hug. "How the fuzz been treatin' ya'?"

"Well, they'd better treat me well. I can fire 'em all with the snap of a finger." This made the two laugh. Judy just looked dumb founded. Nick turned and saw the look on Judy's face and started laughing harder. Judy pouted and crossed her arms.

Angel turned to Judy, "Don't worry sweet cheeks, it's an inside joke. We have been using it as greeting for a while now. But enough about me," he said, "Did the little bunny follow you all the way here?"

Nick continued the joke, "Yeah, I tried to get her to leave me alone, but she just keeps following me. Must think I have food."

Judy crossed her arms and looked at Nick irritably, "That's not funny, Nick. When are you going to stop embarrassing me in public."

Nick clasped his hands behind his head and strolled over to Judy, "Only when it stops being fun, Carrots. No but seriously Angel," he put a hand on Judy's shoulder as he stood next to her, "This is the newest member of the ZIA and also my girlfriend."

Angel's eyes went wide, a grin spreading across his face. He squatted down to look into Judy's eyes, "Really now? And here I thought that Nicky here would die a bachelor." Angel laughed to himself, "So miracles do exist." This caused Nick and Angel to laugh again and Judy to crack smile. Angel saw the smile and grinned at her. "He must tell you all the time about your beautiful smile. You certainly are a cute one." Angel put his paw on her shoulder, continuing to grin. It was a grin that very much resembled Nick's own mischievous grin.

Judy looked upset, "You can't call a bunny cute." Her nose was twitching with irritation.

Angel laughed, "I can if it's true." His face got more serious for a second, "And I meant it as in good looking, not puppy eyes," Judy's face looked astonished, "Don't let the little things get to you," he pointed his hand at himself, "Do you think that every time someone tries to put me down because I have no color, that I let it get to me? Hell no. I have a lot of work to do to get everything here ready." He looked up at Nick, "That is why you are here, no?"

"It is indeed Angel." Nick's tail was wagging slightly, "If you need our help with anything before the fans start showing up, just let us know," said Nick, putting a paw on Judy's shoulder other shoulder.

"Well, I don't know if she can carry some of the heavier stuff-" Angel was interrupted by a bunny pointing her finger at him and giving him a look that would make a lion crawl back to its den with its tail tucked.

"I'll have you know that I beat Jack Savage in a fight and toppled an elephant. I think I can handle some metal," retorted Judy.

"Well DAMN, Nicky!" Angel smiled excitedly at Nick, "You definitely picked an exciting one. She'll keep you on your toes, that's for sure," Angel clapped his hands together and sprang up to his feet. "Yeah, I don't have anything else that needs to be moved. Everything is set up. But..." he looked at Nick shyly, "I do have room up top with me. If you wanted to join me up there as a guest, you could look over the crowd and watch me do my thing up close." Judy looked incredibly excited as she started bouncing up and down.

Nick laughed, "ALRIGHT, fluff, turn it off." Turning to his cousin with a smile, "We would be happy to join you Angel."

The white fox fist pumped as yipped happily. "This is going to be awesome!" He then turned towards the stage, his cloak swirling behind him as he briskly jogged towards a side door at the bottom of the stage.

Judy quickly hugged Nick, "Thank you thank you thank you. This is going to be so cool!" This of course only caused Nick to chuckle.

A few moments later, Angel exited the door as a beautiful, soft piano melody was heard through the large speakers. In front of the stage, the crowd was packed, how this many mammals converged here this quickly was beyond either of the agents.

(To listen to a similar style music go here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HozghhJBRV0)

Angel turned to Nick and Judy with a wide grin, "I am going up top, follow me."

The three walked up the steps to the top platform adorned with a large board with spinning disks, knobs, and sliders that neither Nick nor Judy had any inkling of an idea what to do with. The dumbfounded looks on their faces made Angel laugh. He walked in front of the board and flick several switches and immediately started pressing buttons and moving sliders. Their ears perked up a soft female voice joined the melody. Finally, after flicking a switch, he slid a microphone out of a holster on the side of the board and raised his right paw into the air.

As he did this, the lights on the stage lit up and the airy chords backed up the piano and created an energetic and up beat mood as the kick and bass created a constant beat.

A few seconds later, Angel played with turned one of the spinning disks as the song bled into another. This song had much more power behind it. Angel started moving his hips to the beat and a wide grin grew on his face as he brought the mike up to his muzzle, "I want everyone to be moving. This is your night, GO WILD!" Immediately after, a fat bass moved in as the dropped kicked into action.

Nick smiled as he watched his youngest cousin at work. Every now and then, he'd play with the knobs and move the spinning disks, his hips moving and utterly filled with joy. He had always known him as an entertainer, either with his music or with anything he could do to make people around him happy. It's a shame that he didn't start going public until his nineteenth birthday. Nick knew Angel could have started earlier than that and would be far more famous than he is now. But that is the burden every fox must bear, unfortunately.

Nick looked over and saw his bunny swaying side to side ever so slightly. He sighed and put his arm around her, pulling her body close to him and leaned over to lay a kiss between her ears. For her part, Judy leaned her head on his side as the two enjoyed the night together.

After about five minutes, Angel shrugged off his cloak, revealing the grey tank top he wore, as well as the full extent of the muscles in his arms. Though foxes aren't known for their super bulky and powerful muscles, Angel's arms were noticeably bulkier than most foxes'. The strong muscles showing through the white fur as he played with the console. Though his muscles were no match for the near god like musculature of the fox Judy now embraced, muscles fueled from a lifetime of constant strenuous activity. Judy had to admit that her fox was most likely one of the strongest of his species alive, and also one of the best eye candy. The lean frame of a fox didn't did anything but hurt the attractiveness of these two cousins either.

 

An hour or so later, the night was coming to a close

Angel disappeared into his trailer. After a couple minutes, he returned to the couple with water bottles and a box of crackers. "After doing something like that for an hour, you need to refuel," he said with a smirk,"Trust me, you'll regret it tomorrow if you don't. Muscle cramps, stomach aches, the works. Please, eat up." Angel watched as the two agents ate and drank the things that he had brought out. Nick drank the water bottle in one go, leaving Judy looking at him shocked. She made a mental note of finding her jaw later.

Within ten minutes they had finished a family sized box of crackers. Angel chuckled to himself, "If I had thought you would have eaten them so fast, I would have brought out another box with me. Do you need any more?"

Nick groaned, "Nah, man. I think we're good," he looked like he was going to collapse at any moment, "Damn, jumping up and down for an hour rips your spine in half." He smacked his head on the table they were sitting at. Judy snorted, but could feel her eyelids starting to droop as well.

Angel pointed a finger at Judy, "Now you, you know how to move those hips. Did you do something like this before?" he asked harmlessly. Angel had a big grin on his face.

Judy smiled, "Nope, can't say I have. But I definitely wouldn't mind doing it again." She looked at Angel, eyeing the white fox, "Why did you choose the name The Forbidden Angel?"

Angel seemed to think about it for a moment, "Well, for one, foxes aren't all that highly respected. So by calling myself forbidden, it's kinda like openly voicing my dislike for this useless and outdated prejudice. And of course I chose Angel because I'm completely white."

Judy chuckled, "Isn't it also because that's your name?"

Angel looked at the little bunny and folded his arms, "Nope, that's not my birth name. And I'd rather not say what it was either." Judy saw the sadness in his eyes for a moment, but he quickly put a smirk on to hide it, "Let's just say that my parents set me up to fail in my childhood. As soon as I turned 18, I went and changed my name to Angel so it would match my stage name. Kinda ironic that I named myself after my stage name instead of the other way around."

They sat there silently for a moment, completely forgetting that Nick was sitting next to them, "You are forgetting who spent their entire Saturday," said Nick, his head still on the table as he pointed a finger at the sky, "which I had to have taken out of my paycheck, to drive you to get your name changed. You still owe me five hundred dollars by the way." Judy nearly spit her water across the table.

"You make 500 dollars a day?" Judy's eyes were about to pop out of her head.

Nick looked at Judy, "I used to, but I got a raise for being at the top for seven years straight and now I make 750 dollars a day."

Judy nearly cried out. "The ZPD only paid us minimum wage! We did as much as you did, well maybe not...you know what, forget that argument." Judy laughed to herself, thinking of how much harder her training was, how talented the members of the ZIA were compared to the ZPD. Judy was sure that she could run circles around even Bogo by now.

Angel shook her from her thoughts, "So, any plans this upcoming week? I have some big plans, a party. It's not a show, but there's going to be some big shots there who have been wanting to meet me and a few celebrities, you know. But I figure, 'Hey, why not bring some friends,' especially as you have practically saved the world, like what, three times Nick?" Nick just scratched his neck, looking bashful. Judy knew that he was uncomfortable with admitting things that he never got the credit for. Judy had been surprised when she had heard that ZIA agents never get mentioned by name, to protect them and their families.

Nick opted for just saying, "Yeah, something like that."

Angel continued, "I know that you don't like it when I do, but I have been mentioning you, not for your job, though you will most likely have quite a few questions about that, but about you being my inspiration and being the one to give me the courage to step out on the stage. You joining the military and then becoming the top ZIA agent was a major confidence booster. I may not be where I am if it weren't for your success and determination."

Nick knew this already, his cousin having told him many times, but was surprised that he had told other people about it as well. He didn't know whether to be happy or upset. He decided he was was going to try to enjoy it. But not without some arguing first. He had to have SOME fun. "You know that I don't like being in situations that I'm not in control or have at least caused."

Judy looked at him with a smirk, "Then you must hate me. When was the last time you were in control of me? You said so on the phone with my parents, the only way you even beat me in the fight was to break my ribs. I had you on the ropes, meaning no control for you."

Angel's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he burst into a fit of laughter, "Wow, Nicky! Beautiful, sexy and nearly kicked your butt in a fight. You have got to lock her down immediately. Put a ring on that finger!"

Nick's face immediately turned red, "Come on man! We've spent ONE night in the same room!"

Judy giggled, "Yeah, but when has that stopped you from ogling me when you thought I wasn't looking. Don't think I didn't notice you checking out my rear. You're not as subtle as you think, slick."

Nick was speechless before banging his head on the table, "Bringing you to meet him was a bad idea," he said as he pouted, "Now you can double team me, great! Work together to make fun of the big orange fox."

Angel chuckled, "Dude, I'm pretty sure the last time I checked, I was four inches taller than you."

"Oh shush! I'm still not sure exactly what you are," Nick said playfully, "But yeah, sure. I don't have anything going on next weekend and that means she doesn't either. You know, her life revolving around me training her and all." Nick stretched and laced his fingers behind his head.

Angel got a mischievous smile on his face, "Ya know. You say your a couple, but I haven't seen you do anything to indicate that you are." To which Judy responded by grabbing Nick's chin and bringing his mouth to hers, holding him in a kiss for several seconds.

When she let him go, Nick smiled at her lovingly as she licked her lips. She turned her head towards Angel with her own mischievous smile. "Happy?" She said with a sexy undertone.

"Yes, but I think your boyfriend is even more so." Angel pointed towards the fox who was practically drooling at Judy, "Well, it's been fun, but I'm gonna let you two lovebirds get some sleep and head back home." Angel got up from the table and walked them off to their car.

Judy rolled up the window and settled in for the forty five minute drive back to headquarters.


	7. The Lionett Grande

A large orange blur slammed into Judy, flinging her backwards. Pain shot up her side as she hit the ground, a thud was heard from the impact. Judy was stunned, sprawled on the ground for several seconds with her ears ringing. After she came back to her senses, she shakily got back to her feet. She turned towards her attacker who was looking at her smugly, a big toothy grin on his face.

The fox had his arms crossed across his chest as his tail wagged happily. His shirt was ripped from the ongoing skirmish. His emerald green eyes were looking her over. Nick was always happy to be in the ring with Judy. Though she couldn't beat him, she was the only one who could challenge him in a fight even slightly.

She was getting better though, a lot better. A week before, she hadn't been able to even land a single blow, but just yesterday, she had nailed him in the stomach, stunning him for several seconds, he had barely won the fight, much like their first fight. Though none of their fights had come close to the exertion and effort used in that first skirmish, they were all equally memorable.

A week had passed since the concert. Nick was slightly nervous about the party that was going to take place that night. Don't get him wrong, he enjoyed spending time with his cousin, one of the few people in his family who hadn't resided himself to the stereotypical 'fox's life'. It was nice to also know that he had gotten his confidence from Nick's success as well.

It wasn't his cousin that was bothering him. No, it was the other people who were to be at the party that had him on edge. Nick was never a "social" animal, and was never one for the big social events. They made him nervous. People were unpredictable. Nick always like to be in control of every situation, most likely a side effect of being the best for so long. It had rubbed off on his personality, though he hadn't liked parties before he was in the ZIA, it had been for a different reason. Specifically, the ridicule that the other animals would give foxes.

On the bright side, Judy would be there with him the entire time. He had learned from experience that even a single familiar face can make everything a whole lot better. His time in the military with Jack Savage enforced this knowledge. It would be slightly odd though, a fox bringing a bunny to a party. Even the opposite would have the same effect. Interspecies relationships were still frowned upon, despite all the progress that has been made. Society could be cruel to those who were different.

Nick and Judy were finishing up the training for the day. They had been at it for the past six hours, beating on each other. Both were sore and ready to call it a day. Their clothes were soaked with sweat. Neither of them were hurt, just a little bruised. They were both incredibly tough animals. For years it was rumored that Nick was invincible, he had been through nearly everything. Yet he had survived it all. He had been shot twice, stabbed, blown up and beaten to a pulp, yet every time it only made him more determined to be stronger than his opponent.

Nick walked towards Judy, holding up his hand signaling the end of the training. "Alright, Carrots. I think that's gonna be it for the day." Nick stepped down from the ring, helping Judy down after him. "Let's get cleaned up," Nick put his arm around her shoulder as her lead her to the stairs that went up to their rooms. Nick loved being close to her, even her natural smell, the smell she had went she sweat, made him swell with emotions of love and intimacy. "We have four hours before we have to be at the party," Nick opened the door to the stairs, allowing Judy to pass him, "Ladies first."

Judy looked back over her shoulder with a smile on her face, "Well aren't you a gentleman." Her ears bounced up and down slightly as she bounded up the stairs. Nick marveled at her beauty, her muscular and powerful legs, her teardrop shaped tail which was situated directly above a fairly attractive feature, her perfect hips, the muscles that could be seen on her back, her slender shoulders that sloped up to her neck and to her face. Nick had fallen in love with every aspect of this bunny.

Nick caught up to Judy half way up the stairs, "I try," he pretended to think for several seconds before putting a goofy grin on his face, "I try sometimes." Judy giggled, causing Nick to smile. He loved her laugh, it always made him feel warm inside. Never had it failed to brighten his day.

Four hours later, the duo was standing outside of the building in which the party was to be held. The building was a large mansion that had been converted into a lavish and marvelous location for parties to be held for the rich and famous. The mansion had been built three hundred years ago and still stood in its mostly original glory. A large plaque at the front of the mansion read, 'Lionett Grande', the name of the building.

Both Nick and Judy were dressed in their ZIA uniforms, as Angel had asked them to. Nick hadn't thought it a good idea, reasoning that it would give them more attention than he would like. But Angel had insisted that is exactly what he wanted. He wanted to help his older cousin create connections in this world. Nick couldn't argue with that, but he still didn't like it.

"Speak of the devil," thought Nick as a sleek white limousine rounded the corner. It's windows were tinted nearly completely black. The vehicle stopped in front of Nick and Judy, it's engine a quiet hum as it came to a smooth stopped. One of the doors quickly opened and Angel stepped out in the same outfit he had worn when he had been on stage, but with white pants and a light grey suit instead of shorts and a tank top.

Angel walked towards the duo and quickly hugged Nick, then Judy. "It's so good that you guys could make it," said Angel as he smiled, "Trust me, you won't be disappointed. These parties are always pretty cool." Angel pulled out his phone from his pocket,"Oh, it looks like it should have started all ready," he gestured towards the mansion, "Shall we?"

Nick and Judy followed Angel as he walked up the steps and opened the large doors that lead into the building. The inside was just as lavish as the outside. Several gold chandeliers hung from the ceiling, each had crystals of varying sizes hanging from them. The walls, floors and ceiling were completely white with paintings of famous people adorning the walls. The floor was carpeted with a red carpet that went up the stairs as well. The entire entire interior glimmered with silver and gold.

Judy was happy to come with Nick, both because it got her out of headquarters and because she knew Nick. She knew how he was with big groups, even her inditement party had been a little much for him. She knew that being there for him was the least she could do. Besides, she was excited to meet the rich and famous.

Laughter and talking could be heard from behind a large set of double doors. Angel strolled towards it and it swung open automatically, revealing another section of the mansion.

It appeared to be a dining hall, complete with massive table, but the table was being used as something else. It was converted into a stage, complete with sound system, speakers, the works.

Angel turned towards his two companions, his cloak swishing behind him, "As you may have guessed, there are quite a few musicians and producers among the 'famous', myself included. We usually each take turns playing some of our best songs." Angel had a large smile on his face.

Judy grabbed Nick's hand and lead him off towards a group of mammals who were standing near the stage. Among them was a tigress, a male hippo, a female giraffe, a male cheetah and a male squirrel. They were all wearing suits and dresses, except for the tigress, who was wearing an outfit that could rival Angel's in style. She was most likely another producer.

The tigress' outfit consisted of a light blue cape that was attached to the rest of her outfit at the shoulders. On the back of the cape was the image of a black being with four tails and glowing red eyes hovering in the air over an empty and dried up watering hole. The water was swirling around the being. Bones lined the rim of the watering hole and underneath the image were the words, "Void of Light", most likely her stage name. She wore black gloves and foot pads. A black chest plate adorned her chest, covering her chest and upper stomach, but leaving the rest bare. The tigress also had a black skirt that went down to her knees. On the chest plate was the image of the same being on her cape, but it was holding a large twisted scythe with jagged edges. Her outfit was sexy, but gave off the intended vibe, which was one of darkness and foreboding.

Although her outfit was menacing, her demeanor said other wise. She was very social, talking with the other animals and laughing. Clearly not a violent animal, but just used a cool outfit to portray an image, much like an actor's wardrobe.

As Nick and Judy approached the group, the tigress' ears perked up and she looked over her shoulder. She looked around for several seconds before looking down and seeing the ZIA agents. She seemed rather scared, "Oh my. Can I help you officers?"

Nick smiled warmly to the tigress, "We are off duty. We were dragged here by my cousin and he asked us to wear our uniforms. You might know him, Angel?" At the sound of the DJ's name, the tigress looked surprised.

"You're related to Angel," asked the tigress, to which Nick nodded, "You wouldn't happen to be be Nicholas Wilde, would you?"

Nick was surprised that she knew his name, and after looking at Judy, it was clear she was as well. He turned back towards the tigress, "Yes, how did you know my name?"

"Oh! Angel goes on and on about you. He says he doesn't know what you have done while in the service, but he looks up to you. Says you were the one who gave him the courage to even try to do what he did." She seemed very excited, "I'm very honored to meet the legend himself."

Nick chuckled, "He's made it very clear that he thinks highly of me. I didn't catch your name."

The tigress seemed rather embarrasses for not telling him sooner, "My stage name is Void of Light, but my real name is Ivy Clawnter," she stuck out her gloved paw for Nick to shake. She very suddenly noticed the bunny standing beside him, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't notice you."

Judy chuckled at Ivy's self-consciousnesses, "That's alright. My name is Judy Hopps. Nick is actually my mentor in the ZIA and is currently training me. But..." she trailed off as she hugged Nick's arm, "He's also a little more than that."

Ivy looked surprised at first as did the rest of the group. After a moment, she smiled warmly at them, "It's so nice to see people not letting the 'social norms' to deter them. It's rather sad that more people aren't brave enough to try."

They chatted for another hour before Ivy said she had to get set up for her set on stage. A half hour later, the lights dimmed to nearly pitch black. It stayed like this, complete silence and darkness, for several seconds before a quiet hum could be heard from the stage. It got progressively louder until the stage began to glow red, the edges of the table lightning up illuminating the fog that had been created around the floor. The light slowly got brighter, until it was at full brightness, bathing the audience in a red glow. Suddenly the hum stopped as a slow drum beat was played through the speakers, every couple of seconds, it would get slightly faster.

After around thirty seconds, another sound was added, bells. They played and complimented the drums, producing a dark feel to the music. The drum suddenly sped up quickly until the beats had nearly blended entirely into each each other. After several seconds, the drums suddenly stopped and were replaced by an electric guitar that played an energetic and fast paced rhythm, but was played over by an electric instrument. The song went on for several minutes, changing beats, sometimes they were sudden changes, sometimes they blended together.

After around five minutes, Ivy stepped out onto the stage, but she had a hood that covered her face in darkness. It appeared that she had no face and it was just darkness within her hood. Once she stepped out the music stopped and was replaced by a slow but powerful beat. The beats were strong enough to make Nick's chest vibrate slightly. White noise was heard in the music, getting louder until it dwarfed the other noises, it was soon replaced by a sudden silence that was interrupted by a deep and menacing voice that echoed in itself saying, "Darkness is forever. But the light...the light...is temporary. Now come...and join the world that is...Void of Light."

The voice was immediately followed by a massive drop, the lights started flashing and spotlights that projected red light swept upon the crowd. Images of destroyed cities were projected on the wall behind Ivy. She was better than Angel, a lot better. No wonder, as Nick had learned that she was the number one DJ in the world. Unrivaled, she had dwarfed the competition for years. She was worth well over a quarter of a billion dollars, but had only been active for five years, only three more than Angel. She was incredibly talented.

She finished her set and the lights turned back on slowly, to allow their eyes to adjust. None of the other musicians were as good as she was, but Angel did come close.

Nick and Judy enjoyed themselves. They chatted with the other party goers in attendance. They met a lot of interesting mammals.

It was just after midnight when Nick felt on edge. More than he was when he first got here. It was odd, he couldn't quite put his finger on it...what was that smell? Nick looked around before locating the direction it was coming from. Judy saw him leaving the room and quickly caught up to him.

"Nick, where are you going?" Judy looked worried.

"There's something not right. I smell something familiar, something dangerous. But I can't put my finger on what it is." Nick was concentrated on identifying the smell, continuing to walk at a brisk pace, with Judy right behind him.

Suddenly, Nick knew what the smell was. "Shit, Judy. I know what it is."

Judy looked even more worried than before, "What is it?"

"It's a -" Nick was cut off as he was thrown across the hall by the massive shock wave that swept through the building.

Meanwhile, a black vehicle pulled up to the mansion, just moments after the explosion. A wolf dressed in a red suit with a large scar over his right eye stepped out. Seven other wolves dressed in black combat suits stepped out, all carrying automatic weapons.

The leader wolf laughed to himself, a malicious look in his eyes. "Tonight...the past burns."


	8. The Past Burns

Smoke. Burning. The smell of charred flesh and fur. These are the things that Nick was pulled out of his unconsciousness by. Dazed and confused, he looked around at his surroundings.

Or what was left of them.

The hallway he had been in was splintered, the roof collapsed, many of the walls were missing. Debris littered the floor.  
Most of the rooms that branched off of the hallway hadn't fared much better. Windows were missing, fires were dying down, but many were still burning. The smell of the smoke was present, but most of it had escaped through the new openings in the building.

His memory was foggy, much like his vision. He shook his head, shakily forcing himself to climb to his feet. The last thing he remembered was him walking with...

Judy.

Nick frantically looked for the bunny. He ran to the first room. A large fire was still burning in it, but after a quick Nick took a whiff of the room, he instantly knew Judy was not there. Every room in the hallway were the same, no Judy. As Nick was beginning to lose his mind, he heard a small sound, like pebbles rolling across concrete.

His ears perked up as he tracked the sound to a small pile of debris in the corner of the hallway. When he got closer, he could see it shift slightly, and a small furry grey paw extend from the pile.

Running to the pile, Nick began throwing the broken debris off of the bunny. After almost ten seconds of digging, he saw the paw begin to move. Nick smiled, thank god she was alive.

Judy slowly sat up, coughing from the dust of the rubble. Nick was knewling next to her, keeping her from falling forward. She slowly came to her senses and noticed the orange fox next to her.

"Nick," Judy said in shock, "are you alright? What happened?" She slowly let her gaze divert from the fox and look around the room. Nick saw the horror on her face grow as she took in the destruction around them. "How did this happen?"

Nick was just as shocked as she was, but he kept his composer. "I think someone set off a bomb," said the fox, he was keeping his voice down. "We need to move, whoever set it off could still very well be here." Nick helped Judy to her feet.

She brushed the dust off of her uniform, which now a tear in the shoulder and one of the knees. "You're right," she looked around them once more, before her ears shot up. "Nick, we need to hide." She grabbed the foxes paw and pulled him off into one of the lesser damaged rooms.

They hid there for several seconds before Nick heard the sound of padded paws hitting linoleum. He also heard the familiar rattle of guns. "Judy, they have firearms. If we are going to get out of here, we are going to need to take a couple of them." Nick was staring intently at the end of the hallway, watching for the perpetrators to show themselves.

Nick heard something behind him, just in time to see a white tail brake through a pile of rubble. Which was soon followed by the rest of Angel's body. He looked like he was going to throw up.

Nick rushed over to him, keeping low so his footsteps weren't as forceful and he kept out of sight. Angel felt a paw on his back and jumped before realizing that it was Nick. "Jeez, you look like shit," said the albino fox.

Nick smirked, "Hey, I could say the same about you," looked back over at Judy who shook her head, signaling that the bombers had not hown themselves yet. He turned his attention back to Angel, "Look, the building was blown up and now there are some very dangerous people in the building, coming to finish off anyone the bomb didn't," he put his hand on angel's shoulder reassuringly, "Stay here, we will deal with them. Try to make as little sound as possible."

Nick headed back over to Judy. "How is he doing," she asked, never taking her eyes off the end of the hall.

"He'll survive. Have they gotten any closer, my hearing isn't as good as yours." Nick took his position beside Judy.

Just as he said this, he heard gunfire as the group no doubt was ending the lives of some innocent party goer who had the unluckiness of being there that night.

"They are very close, maybe a hundred feet of the turn," said Judy, "What do you want to do when they reveal themselves?"

Nick thought for a moment, "We should be faster than them, so we should rush them and confiscate a few guns before killing them. You have been trained enough to know how to beat firearms in a fight. But be careful." Nick held his breath, waiting in suspense.

Judy noticed that he had taken on the same demeanor as in the first fight she had with him. He was almost completely motionless. He was completely focused on his senses, she could see his nose flare now and again as he inhaled. Judy had learned the technique of taking in almost every aspect of your surroundings at once early on in her training with Nick, something he had been surprised she had piked up so fast.

Judy heard thunder in the distance. It was most likely only a few miles away. When the second blast of thunder was heard, it was considerably closer. The flash of lightning was actually visible, not only because there was a large hole in the ceiling of the room, but because it was almost right outside of the building.

The group of gunmen rounded the corner just as the rain from the storm hit the building. Seven wolves were within the group, all wearing black suits and ties. All were holding automatic weapons.

Nick was incredibly fast, more so than she had seen him move in a long time. Faster than in their first fight, he was almost a blur as he rushed the frontal gunman. He slid along the floor, knocking his feet out from underneath him as Judy launched herself at another assailant feet first.

Judy collided with the wolf's face, grabbing the gun and tearing it from his paws as she kicked him into the wall. The wall crumbled, causing the wolf to fall backwards. Judy landed and immediately shot twice, directly into one of the wolves' heads. He fell, his weapon clattering across the floor.

Nick took the weapon from the gunman he had knocked down and shot him in the head. Blood splattered the floor and Nick himself. He quickly raised his stolen gun and shot two gunman in the head, both falling to the floor, their bullet holes leaking the red fluid onto the rubble littered floor.

The rain was down pouring as Judy and Nick worked together to take out the last two gunmen. Six bodies and seven gunmen.

Wait that wasn't right. "Heads up," said Judy calmly as she shot over Nick's shoulder at the now upright wolf that she had kicked through the wall. He now had a hole between his eyes as he fell backwards.

Nick and Judy had fired a total of eight shots. Not bad, not one hundred present kill ratio, but not bad.

The wall next to them suddenly exploded, throwing the duo to the side, their guns skittering off across the floor.

They turned themselves around to see another wolf, this one was larger than the rest, nearly a foot taller. He had a red suit and a grenade launcher in his right paw. A wicked smile resided upon his face.

The wolf chambered another shot, but before he could fire, he was shouldered through the wall by a white fox. Angel was knocked back slightly from the impact.

Nick rushed to his feet. "Angel get the hell back. I'm going to try to subdue him. We need questions answered." Judy gave Nick a nod of approval as Angel rushed behind a shattered wall, with Judy close behind.

No sooner had they hidden themselves when the wolf blew up the wall he was behind and lunged at Nick, chambering another shot in the air.

Nick grabbed the grenade launcher and flipped the wolf over his back, pulling the gun from his paws. Nick threw the gun into a pile of rubble and readied himself for a retaliation.

He was soon rewarded with the display of the wolf's inexperience at fighting. Nick easily put him in a hold that cut off the larger mammal's air circulation, causing him to quickly pass out.

Once the wolf was unconscious, Nick called to the two hiding behind the wall. Judy brought Angel over to Nick.

He had a nervous smile on his face, "So this is what your job entails. It's uh...it's certainly more exciting than my job." He laughed nervously, he was clearly in shock about the happenings of the night, witnessing his oldest cousin and his cousin's girlfriend/student kill seven gunmen in less than twenty seconds and then his cousin take down a mammal who was over twice his size in less than ten.

The rain had soaked all of their clothing. The lack of a roof was providing no relief from the storm as Nick and Judy carried the unconscious wolf to Nick's Mustang. Nick went to the trunk and pulled out a large pair of handcuffs. He locked them on the wrists of the wolf as he got in and started the car.

Nick drove off after they had gotten themselves and the wolf into the car. Judy had taken a pistol from the back and had it pointed at the wolf's head as she sat in the back seat with him. If he woke up, she didn't need him trying to kill her or escape.

Judy suddenly realized something, "Hey, Nick. Where are you planning on going?"

Nick sighed, "Normally, I would do this on my own, but we are going to need help with this one," he paused for a long moment, "We're going to the ZPD."


	9. The Beginning of the Fall

Nick was pissed as he drove his Mustang through the streets of Zootopia. Not only had these bastards flown completely under his radar, they managed to blow him up, along with Judy and Angel, killed over fifty mammals in that mansion and then tried to finish them off.

And to make his mood even worse, the ass hat in the back seat woke up ten minutes ago and immediately tried to rip Judy's head off, before she tasered him. Where she had been hiding that, Nick had no idea. He had been about to jump in the back and rip HIS head off. The wolf got off easy.

Oh, and they still had no idea who THEY were or why they decided to blow up a building and murder over fifty mammals, that's another big mood dampener for Nick. So on the pissed off scale...there wouldn't be a scale anymore, lets just put it that way.

The moon loomed directly overhead. It was full and large that night, shining down onto the black and red vehicle.

Nick had been driving for about an hour, on there way to bring dumbass in the back seat to the ZPD. Nick would much rather torture the information, but he did have some guidelines that he needed to follow as an agent of the ZIA. And one of the biggest was no torture, unless it is okayed by the higher ups.

Nick figured that it would be faster to go to the ZPD and get their help. he also didn't want Judy to have to witness the things that Nick wanted to do to the wolf in the back seat. Not yet anyways. She knew many things about the duties of a ZIA agent, but he wanted to keep the often overly brutal torture methods away from her knowledge for now.

Nick would look into the rear view mirror every so often to make sure that Judy still had everything under control. Not that he didn't trust her, Nick just wanted the excuse to beat the living daylights out of the wolf that head lead tried to blow the two agent up a second time, nearly succeeding.

Angel was looking particular shaken over the night's happenings. He was fidgeting, his tail was curl underneath him and the his fur was standing up. Nick wasn't too worried about him, but living through a night like tonight would certainly damage or at least mark the mind of someone who hadn't had the intense mental training needed to withstand the trauma. But on the bright side, he could have died in the explosion, rather than receiving just a few scrapes and bruises.

Nick had asked Angel why he hadn't been in the dinning hall, to which he simply answered that he had left to get ready for his set on stage. It had been a lifesaving coincidence. Neither were sure if Ivy, the tigress who went on stage first, had survived.

Nick could tell while the party was going on that Angel had a crush on her. It had made him smile, knowing that he wasn't the only one in the family who found other species attractive. It seems it was more common than most mammals knew. He's have to tease him about it later.

Twenty minutes later, the massive structure that was Precinct One came into view. Another three minutes and Nick was parking the Mustang in the parking lot in front of the building.

Nick still remembered the day he had first come here over a month ago. But that had been under better circumstances.

Nick turned off the engine, it's roar dying down. He pressed a button on the back of the steering wheel, popping a hidden compartment open. Inside was a black Desert Eagle. The barrel had gold plating, as did the butt, the bottom part of the grip. On the side of the gun in swirling lettering, were his initials inlaid in gold.

Nick pulled out the weapon that had been painstakingly handcrafted and customized specifically for him, by him. He also pulled out five magazines from the same compartment. He loaded one of the them and cocked the gun.

Nick opened the door and stepped out. The ground was cold under his padded paws as he walked around the front of the car. He stepped in front of the door that the wolf was sitting next to, opened it and pointed the gun at the larger mammal's head.

Nick snarled at him, "Get out of my car." Just the tone Nick had used would have been enough to make the wolf obey. The massive animal stepped out, almost two feet taller than your average wolf. By now, he had cuffs on, a precaution taken after trying to kill Judy. "Start walking, you don't get a cell yet," Nick commanded.

The wolf chuckled, "A cell won't hold me."

Nick smiled, showing all of his teeth, "We could always just kill you. I mean, being an agent of the ZIA, I am sort of above the law when it comes to killing. You on the other hand," he gestured towards the wolf, "eh, not so much. By blowing up a building and killing over fifty people in the process, you, my friend, have just committed and act of terrorism. Which, in Zootopia, is one of the few crime that still can be punished by the death penalty."

The wolf gulped audibly as Nick continued to list all of the ways that this could go much, much worse for the wolf than being in a prison cell for life. As Nick was tormenting the wolf, Judy and Angel had gotten out of the vehicle and caught up to the still furious fox.

They reached the front door of the ZPD Headquarters, sliding open to allow the group into the building. The building was suddenly filled with a fox's voice as it continued to list three more endings that the wolf's crime could now lead him to. Each worse than the last.

Nick turned towards the wolf and grinned deviously, "So if I were you, I'd be a good little terrorist and behave, or I'll have to kill you," his face suddenly turned from a grin to a very intimidating expression as his tone dropped from cheery to threatening an commanding, "Are we clear?"

The wolf gulped and then timidly said, "Yes."

Nick smiled, "Good."

Almost as soon as Nick had said that, a large buffalo in a police uniform slammed his hands on the railing on the floor above and shouted down at the group, causing any officer who wasn't aware of the two agents to become very aware of them.

"What is going on here!" shouted Chief Bogo as he gazed upon the group, before noticing the bunny and fox. He suddenly changed his demeanor from aggressive to calm and friendly, "Judy? Is that you?"

Judy smiled and waved, before holstering the gun she had in her other paw. "Hey Chief," called Judy, a smile on her face as she looked up to the buffalo.

Hearing Judy speak made Bogo smile, causing several officers to approach the group, but stopped when they saw the two agent's torn uniforms. Several looked like they were asked what happened but where silenced when they saw the pistol pointed at the massive wolf who still had his now ripped and dusty red suit on.

The group waited while Bogo came down the curved staircase in the center of the large room. When he had finally reached them, he too saw their torn uniforms and then almost immediately saw the gun and who it was pointed at. Bogo seemed to shift into a more professional position as he looked at the wolf.

Normally, wolves only came up to chest height on the Chief, but this one was just as tall as he was. It was slightly off putting for the buffalo.

He cleared his throat, "So it appears that you have come on official business," said the buffalo. He was both honored that he was the one they came to and worried about why they came to him.

Nick took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, trying to calm his anger. After a few seconds, he turned his attention back to the chief of police, putting a friendly smile on, "You are correct, we came with business," Nick let his anger slip slightly and it showed in Bogo's face. Nick kicked himself for that, usually never letting, or at least showing, his emotions when around other professionals. "As for the official part," he continued, "not so much. Though I wager that blowing up the Lionett Grande, killing fifty people and almost killing two ZIA agents at the same time could become official fairly quickly."

Bogo looked completely shocked, "This mammal almost killed you? Along with blowing up a historical building and killing fifty people?"

Judy spoke this time, "Well, he had the help of seven other wolves with assault rifles, but their bodies are lying in what remains of the mansion."

Bogo looked even more shocked than before, mostly because, speicist or not, these two small animals were able to kill seven other animals and capture one even bigger than the others without backup or even getting shot. All the while a building was collapsing around them.

Bogo suddenly noticed the white fox. "Who's the other one," asked Bogo, gesturing towards the albino fox.

Judy turned her head. She chuckled when she saw him, she had completely forgotten about him. Turning back to Bogo she said, "That's Agent Wilde's cousin, Angel-" she was cut off by Bogo.

"Wait, Angel? As in The Forbidden Angel? Oh, wow!" He walked over to Angel extending his hand, "I am a huge fan." Angel smiled, shaking the buffalo's hand. Bogo released his hand, "I had no idea you had a cousin in the ZIA, or that he was the top agent."

Judy realized that she had to get the situation back under control, "Hey! Bogo, not to be rude, but we have a terrorist and murderer on our hands and it would be really nice to have a secure area to question him so we can understand why the hell he blew us up along with over four dozen animals, including Angel."

Bogo blinked, looking bewildered before realizing that he still had a job to do. "Oh, right. I am deeply sorry agents." He cleared his throat and walked back to the front of the group. "Right this way." He proceeded to lead them down several hallways before coming to a room with a metal table in the middle and several metal chairs. All the while, Nick still had his pistol trained on the wolf's head.

Bogo unlocked the door and pushed the wolf into the room. Nick holstered his weapon, now that they had a buffalo to keep the wolf in check. Bogo lead the wolf to the seat behind the table. He then stepped aside after this so the agents could conduct their work. Angel was waiting in the hall.

Nick sat in one of the chairs opposite the wolf. He let out a long sigh and pinched the rim of his nose. After almost a minute he looked up at the ceiling and chuckled.

"Heheheh, I've got a joke for you. You decide to blow up a historic building, fifty people and two agents of the ZIA," Nick looked the wolf dead in the eyes with a grin that was anything but happy, "Now here's the fun part. I'm gonna let you finish the joke."

The wolf smiled and sat back in his chair, "And what makes you think that I will tell you the ending. Nothing you do here will matter anyways."

Nick looked happy as he pulled out his gun and pointed it at his head, "Oh! Okay, so then you're no use to me so I can just kill you right?"

The wolf immediately went wide eyed, "Nononnonono! There's no heheh, there's no need to kill anyone. I'll tell you the end of your joke."

Judy looked as stone faced as she did when she entered the room. "Oh darn," she said, "I kinda wanted to see the end of your joke Nick."

Nick smiled at her, "Well, you still can, I mean if wolfy here has no objections, I'd be more than happy to paint this room a new color." Nick pointed the gun back at the wolf.

Said wolf turned to the buffalo, "Please, do something. Don't just let them kill me."

Bogo chuckled as he opened up a game on his phone, "Don't look at me. They're not my responsibility," never looking up once.

Judy walked over to the table and slammed her hands down. "Alright, listen closely shit for brains. If you don't want your fur and blood sprayed all over this room, I'd suggest you cooperate. Or your going to make Agent Wilde here a lot angrier than he already is. And trust me, you will not like him when he loses his temper."

Nick kept his gun pointed directly between the wolf's eyes. "Alright, what do you want to know?"

"Let's start with your name." commanded Nick.

"Mast Livont," said the wolf as he stared at the gun in Nick's paw.

"Good, now we know you can speak without sounding like a completely asshole," said Nick as he continued to his next question, "Now, let's start getting into the more interesting parts of my joke. Who were the other jackasses who tried to kill us but were too stupid to even take a single shot while we proceeded to put holes in their heads?"

Mast sighed, "They and I are- were, members of a group of activists."

"Alright, good," said Nick, "Now for the funny part, why did you try to blow us up?"

Mast rubbed his face, "We weren't trying to blow you up specifically. There was only one person who was the target and we were going to use the other bodies to mask our true target."

Nick chuckled, "That's not a half decent plan, but unfortunately, you did try to blow up anyone who was in the building,and that includes us. Now, who was your target and why did you want him dead."

"Our target was a woman. I believe she was a DJ. Her name was Ivy Clawnter," said the wolf. Nick waited for him to continue, growing more and more furious as he told his story. "As for the why, she was a leading supporter of the interspecies movement. It hadn't gotten a lot of support until she joined it. So we were sent to kill her and stop the movement before it could get any larger."

Nick smiled maliciously, "I doubt that your activist group could only be centered around stopping one small movement. Come on, finish my joke. I wanna really laugh when I hear the ending."

The wolf took a deep breath, looked at the fox, smiled and said, "Go to hell."

Nick smiled menacingly back and said in a dark tone, "You first." He then pulled the trigger, blowing the back of the wolf's head off as the large round left a sizable hole between his eyes.

Bogo sighed, "So you get him in here and learn almost nothing, just to kil-" he was cut off by the sound of several large explosions through out the city in a short period of time.

The group left the room in a rush. Once outside, they saw every officer on duty watching as largest buildings around them were exploding. Many of them falling onto other buildings. The explosions created massive fireballs that lit up the night. The streets were being bathed in a constant glow of orange while being serenaded by constant screaming.

Nick ran to his vehicle and popped open the trunk. When it opened it was completely empty, until he pressed a button and the entire inside slid out the back. Everything too large flipped onto it's side, revealing compartments holding multiple guns.

When the car was finished opening, Nick pressed another button on the underside of what was the dashboard, causing a red blinking light to appear below it.

Within five minutes, the sound of propellers could be heard through out the city as the ZIA responded with an army of agents. Soon, the war would begin.


	10. Those Who Protect

The choppers were like a massive swarm of heavy machines. Their blades whirring and twirling as they approached their destination, the source of the Code Red Alert beacon.

Every agent had one and the beacons were able to put out not only the location, but also the agent who activated the beacon. So when the ZIA got word that Agent Wilde had activated a Code Red, the most dire of alerts, they were lightning quick to respond.

Nick watched as the choppers flew in, landing wherever possible. Many of them were forced to just drop off their agents and fly back to the hanger bay from which they came. The sound of the whirring blades filled the night like a massive swarm of bees.

Every agent had his or her preferences when it came to weaponry and loadout, so it wasn't surprising that almost none of the agents had the same equipment. Nick smiled when he saw how shocked the ZPD officers were at how many agents there were and how diverse their species was. There were more predators than prey, but only slightly. The ZIA did not see species, rather skill and determination.

It took less than ten minutes for every agent in the ZIA to be present, all 252 of them. Every one of them was faster, more intelligent and more skilled than any military commander in history. Most came from the military or police service themselves, but there were a few highly skilled agents that came from...less than desirable backgrounds. Hit men, terrorists, crime lords, the background did not matter.

Nick approached the group of Agents who were looking at the destruction of their beloved city that was being thoroughly destroyed. And from what Nick had heard from the radios that the ZPD were wearing, the other districts of Zootopia were not fairing any better.

Nick stopped in front of the large group of animals and held up his hand for silence. Through the years, Nick's reputation had earned him an immense amount of respect and loyalty from the agents within the ZIA. They respected him and his command for silence. When they were on group missions with no one in the higher ups giving orders, Nick was always seen as the leader, the one they followed.

"Alright," said Nick, "as you may have noticed, we are currently under attack. We believe that is from a currently unnamed and unidentified terrorist group disguised as activists who just hours ago had blown up The Lionett Grande with myself and Agent Hopps inside. We were able to kill the attackers and capture their leader, but were unable to get anything usable out of him before he...you now what, before he pissed me off and I killed him."

Many of the agents whistled or cheered for the fox, they all knew how immensely infuriating interrogations could be, especially with someone who just tried to kill you and your friend.

"Yeah, yeah, save the congratulations for later," said the fox with a grin, "But right now, we need to stop the attacks. I doubt that they set charges, so we are most likely dealing with RPG's. This also means that they will have a fairly skilled and well armed militia. As always deadly force is severely advised."

This got another round of cheering. An agent's favorite pass time is killing some assholes who decided it would be a good idea to piss you off.

"Alright, here's how we do this." Nick proceeded to assign the top twelve agents including himself a team of eleven. Nick already had Judy assigned to him so he chose ten at random to take Savannah Central. "You know your assignments, let's get this done with as few of our own in body bags as possible." Nick raised his pistol into the air as he said this. The group of Agents cheered as they all dispersed, each group moving on foot but still much faster than any bicycle could move.

Nick waited until he and his group of agents were the only ones left. He walked over to Bogo, "Hey Chief, I know your guys aren't on the same level of skill as mine, but it would be very much appreciated if you could spare some people to serve as lookouts and spotters. We need to know where these guys are so we can take 'em out."

Bogo thought for a moment before nodding, "I'll see what I can do."

Nick smiled, "Alright." He started to leave before he remembered something, "Oh, and if you need, you have access to my arsenal of weapons. They're all loaded and ready for combat."

"Will do," the buffalo said simply.

Nick spun around and headed back towards the small group of agents. Judy was returning from Nick's car after equipping herself. Nick passed her as he headed there as well. He grabbed a long knife with a serrated edge and an assault rifle with semi-auto firing capability and a medium-range rifle scope.

On his way back, Bogo told him that he has five officers for each district and that they will be on their way to those districts in a few minutes. Nick nodded as his only response, now slipping into the state of mind that made him so deadly, a skill he had learned and mastered in the military and was something that he had been sure to have this be the first thing he taught Judy. She had been using this very skill when they were in the mansion.

As Nick approached the group of officers, they split to allow him to pass, then followed him. As soon as he reached the street, he took off for the large main street. He heard several agents enter some of the less damaged buildings to look for survivors.

"Good," he thought, "It's at least a win if we can save even a few people from burning or being crushed to death."

Within a few minutes, as he was rounding a corner, he saw the glint of metal in a window and immediately took aim. The bullet nailed the glint and caused the RPG to explode, the large orange fireball blowing a large hole in the wall. Never slowing down, he continued down the street. His breathing was steady as if he was standing still, one of the perks of going through such brutal training was that running for hours on end felt like a day off.

A couple seconds later, he heard Judy fire her weapon and a split second later the body of a mule fell to the street, his assault rifle clattering to the ground along side him. The body had a hole directly between the eyes. Nick smiled at how skilled she had become. He was immensely proud of her and her accomplishments. She was certainly going to be one of the best agents the ZIA ever had, maybe even better than him, and he knew it.

The near silent sound of feet hitting pavement was the only sound that entered Nick's ears as he round the corner. But the new sound was something he had expected but hoped he wouldn't find. A large building was lying in the center of the street. The massive structure had crushed the building on either side of said street. Bodies littered the street, some still on fire just like the massive fallen structure.

Immediately, the group of twelve agents were assaulted by a rain of bullets. Nick dove into an open doorway, slipping behind the wall for protection. Sweat was running down his face, soaking his collar. He wiped it away, but it was immediately replaced by more.

The air in the building was thick with smoke and dust. Nick started coughing, he steadied his breathing. He couldn't let the environment be the thing that did him in. The room was dark, the lights having been shattered after the building was rocked by an explosion. The roof was on the verge of collapsing, but Nick had no choice. Unless he wanted to get shot, he had to stick with his choice of cover.

He looked around for some way to get higher. After looking for a few seconds, he found an isolated crack in the ceiling. Taking out his knife, he jammed it into one of the wider sections of the crack and pulled to the side until the ceiling gave way. Plaster and wood rained down on him.

"Well that sucked," thought Nick as he climbed up the new hole. Stepping carefully so he wouldn't upset the floor and cause it to collapse, he made his way to the less damaged staircase that led to the roof. Nick timidly traveled up the stairs, still worried about a possible collapse.

As he reached the top, he saw a metal door in his way. He slowly opened the door, not wanting to alert any potential hostiles.

Once the door was open, he was able to see the two individuals on the roof, the two having been hidden behind the door. Nick took a small step, trying and failing to keep his presence unknown to the two. One of them, a coyote, looked over and pulled a pistol out.

Nick reacted swiftly, diving to the side before rushing the coyote with his knife out. Before the larger animal could blink twice, Nick had the blade embedded deep in his stomach. Blood ran down Nick's hand as he twisted the blade, making the cut as lethal as possible.

More blood emerged as Nick kicked him in the chest, dislodging the blade while sending him over the edge. Nick sheathed the blade and whipped out his Desert Eagle, turning it on the other hostile. He fired two rounds into the other's chest, sending him over after his friend.

Holstering his weapon, the fox looked over what was once a peaceful street. Nick was shocked by what he saw.

Seven agents, agents who were supposed to be better than the military, were shot and killed. The fire had spread from the fallen structure to buildings on both sides of the street. It looked like something out of a war documentary, though he should know. He was military for five years. Nick then saw why so many had died, the group that was firing on them numbered over one hundred personnel. This was far worse than anything he could have anticipated.

Where the hell did this many people come from. People who were trained to fight and had the will to attack innocent people and kill the people who protected those innocents. The sound of gun fire was still very much present.

Nick was forced to duck as a bullet whizzed by his head. He grabbed the strap that was attached to his assault rifle and pulled the gun in front of him. He cocked the weapon and spun around, his gun finding his first target. He pulled the trigger and was rewarded with a spray of blood as he nailed a sheep in the head, obliterating it's small cranium.

He melodically and systematically continued to fire upon the massive group that was firing down on his agents. Within twenty minutes and three reloads later, there were still over twenty hostiles. Nick figured that would be a small enough to effectively sweep the area and eliminate the rest.

Nick switched his assault rifle for the pistol and then leaned over the edge of the roof. He waved to Judy who immediately waved back. Nick made the hand signal for enter and sweep, to which she simply responded by gathering what remained of the agents and lead them into the building.

Nick smiled and the approached the side of the roof that loomed over the fallen. It was a ten foot drop, but Nick knew how to distribute his weight so as not to even feel the impact. He took a running jump, arms extended.

When his paws hit the building he rolled to a kneeling position completely unscathed. As he stood up, the side of the building he was just on began to give way under his feet.

"That figures," he thought as he fell through the side of the building. He landed on his back, though it was not a very long fall, as he appeared to be in a bathroom, though currently on it's side.

Pushing the debris off of him, he got to his feet, found his pistol lying near the once door now hole in the floor. He made sure that it was not damaged, he didn't need it exploding in his paw. Once he had determined that it was unharmed, he jumped through the doorway and used the slanted wall to slow his descent.

Once he was safely on the wall, er, floor, he turned his attention back to the task at hand.

Going from room to room, he swiftly swept the building. He could here Judy and the others performing their part of the operation.

In total, once the building was clear, he had taken out 63 of the over 100 hostiles that had once filled it.

Nick rejoined what remained of their group, a dismal 6 agents. That included Nick and Judy.

"Alright," said Nick, "We just lost a lot of agents, but we still have enough to clear the district." He was clearly worried, never having been in any attack of this scale. I mean, who attacks the entire city of Zootopia. The city was massive. Nick didn't have time to mock the stupidity of the situation.

He did have to marvel at how well they had managed to do it though. One massive coordinated attack on the largest city in the world. Each section of the city had it's own climate and layout of buildings, making it that much more difficult to effectively equip your troops. On top of that, you have the best trained agents in the world defending it. The fact that they are coming very close to sending Zootopia into the pits of hell was a marvel in and of itself.

The group exited the building without any further incident. The rest of the city seemed fairly quiet compared to what they just had to go through.

After an hour of sweeping the area, the group was certain that Savanna Central was secure. Nick gave the signal to return to the ZPD. The night was nearly silent as the group ran back to their current base of operation. Half way there, they could feel the ground shake as the first explosion in a while went off. The explosion was much bigger than an RPG, judging from the shock wave that just rippled through the ground.

What was left of Precinct One was just barely visible to the agents as they watched it become engulfed by a massive rising ball of orange fire.


	11. Nothing Left to Lose

The agents watched as pieces of what was once Precinct One flew off into the distance. Massive chunks of wall, large pieces of metal, giant shards of glass, even the ground itself was thrown into the air.

The air was very suddenly filled with massive amounts of smoke as those flying pieces burned. The sky had nearly turned completely black. The faint light from the moon was almost completely gone.

Zootopia was thrust into darkness.

Several other massive explosions were heard as the other police stations were destroyed. Large columns of smoke rose from their foundations.

As morbid as it sounds, the only light that shown in the darkness was that of the burning buildings. Buildings burned by the very beings who just blew up twelve government buildings.

Judy watched Nick, waiting to see what he would do. They stood in place for what felt like an eternity. The realization suddenly hit her.

Nick didn't know what to do. Nothing of this scale had ever happened. Not even when he was in the military. He was thrown off guard, and she knew that she had to take control, or they would stand there forever.

Judy was about to say something when her ears went up. Immediately, she and the other agents dove out of the way as a large curved piece of the ZPD Headquarters came hurtling towards them. Judy hit the ground, rolling to her feet.

She took several deep breaths, steadying her heart rate. After several minutes, she turned around. She was horrified by what she saw.

One of the agents hadn't seen the projectile and had been crushed, her body laying mangled, broken and bleeding in the street.

"At least it was a quick death," thought Judy. She couldn't even imagine how people who kill like this can live with themselves. Who blows up a whole goddamn city? And not even with one bomb. Oh no. Who destroys a city with lots of little explosions and then just leaves it burning. It doesn't make any sense.

Judy looked for Nick and saw him sitting with his hands over his face on a set of stone steps. It was apparently one of the only buildings that hadn't been completely decimated by these terrorists.

She went over to him and sat down. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder. They sat there for a while, not really sure what to do.

Almost five minutes passed before Judy realized something she hadn't before. Nearly three minutes ago she had started to hear a hard thumping sound, almost rhythmic. Now she knew what it was.

Gunfire. People were still fighting.

She raised her head and jumped to her feet. "Hold on, listen!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, "People are still fighting!" She excitedly scooped up the rifle she had dropped when she dove to the ground and darted off towards the gunfire.

She could hear the other agents, including Nick, following close behind. As she ran, she checked the gun to make sure it was undamaged. unfortunately, it had a large dent in the side.

"Damn," she thought as she threw the gun to the side and she kept going.

She soon realized that they were heading straight towards the ZPD Headquarters. After they cleared the buildings, the full extent of the damage to the building was evident.

In the center of what was once a shimmering symbol of the city's brave and loyal defenders, was a massive bonfire. The walls were torn down, blown out by the explosion.

But what got her attention even more, were the officers who were pinned down near that fire. they were currently fighting for their lives, using the weapons from Nick's car to fight the fifty some odd hostiles around the perimeter of the building. Judy took a deep breath and drew her knife that she had grabbed from Nick's arsenal. Hers was very similar to the one he had grabbed, except hers was smaller, so it fit better in her hand.

She rushed one of the hostiles, leaped upwards, and jammed her knife into the side of the animal's neck. The large animal went down and she pulled the blade out. She quickly slashed open the leg of another animal and stabbed it through the heart.

She saw Nick using his knife to kill three more animals. Judy felt the air vibrate as a hippo charged her. She spun around, pulling out her revolver and shot the beast twice through the head. Blood sprayed outwards, some of it landing on her uniform, though the blood was the least of her worries when it came to her torn and dirty clothes.

She had to jump out of the way to avoid being crushed by the body, still being carried by it's own momentum.

Judy spun around at the sound of someone familiar yelling. She then saw why. Chief Bogo was one of the survivors along side Angel, and several members of the group that had most likely just blown up Precinct One were closing in on the remaining survivors.

Judy ran towards them, jumping over several dead bodies. She once more unsheathed her knife and jumped towards a tiger, embedding the blade into the back of it's neck. She pulled the knife to the side, slicing open the side of his neck and freeing her blade.

She used the momentum from the action to spin her self towards the next assailant, slicing her throat open. The female fell to the ground, blood spilling onto the concrete.

Judy rolled to her feet when she hit the ground, immediately taking off towards the next terrorist. She slid between his legs, blade pointed upwards as she sliced through his pelvis. She planted her heels into the ground, popping up to stand on them.

She turned, jumped upwards and then kicked the bastard in the face, crushing the large animal's skull. Judy landed on her feet, the animal falling to the ground as she ran towards the final member of the terrorist group.

She leaped forwards and upwards, now holding her revolver in one paw and her knife in the other. She slammed the blade into the cheetah's shoulder. She used her momentum to clear his shoulder and pointed the gun directly at his head, pulling the trigger as she passed.

Rolled to a kneeling position as the cheetah fell forwards, a large hole in the side of it's head. Judy pulled her knife out of its back, sheathed it and approached the now relatively safe survivors.

Bogo was the first to speak, "Thank god you're here, we were pinned down with nowhere to run. We lost several officers." Bogo was clearly shaken, nothing he had ever done or been through measured up to this.

Judy shook her head, "I don't get it. Why would these people think that blowing up a city was a good way to accomplish anything. There's no way this can end well for them. Even if they manage to kill all of us, there are still other groups, the military, the air force, that will defeat them. So what is their goal?" She hadn't really expected a response from the chief, but was still slightly disappointed that he didn't have the answer. She smiled at the buffalo, "Anyways, I'm glad you're alright, even a few lives saved is a win. To be honest, we need all the help we can get. We lost six agents in our first gunfight. They out numbered us ten to one. We would have all died if Nick hadn't gone all sniper crazy on the bastards."

Bogo looked surprised, "One man saved you from over a hundred personnel?"

Judy smiled, "Yeah, took out over sixty of the bastards from his perch. He's not the best for nothing."

Bogo chuckled to himself as he looked up to see the fox currently unloading an entire clip of ammunition into a corpse while screaming expletives at the top of his lungs. "No he is not."

After having a talk with Bogo, Judy returned to the others. Nick waved her over, patting the spot next to him. Judy ran over and sat down. "What's up?" she asked.

Nick sat there for a moment, deep in thought, before speaking. "I don't think we can win this."

Judy was shocked, "What the hell do you mean we can't win this. We killed a hundred of them with only six agents."

Nick rubbed his face, clearly agitated. "Judy, look around you. In case you haven't noticed, we've already lost. They blindsided us. They destroyed our city and we couldn't do anything to stop them. Nothing we do now matters. Everything we've done has just spun us in circles, never finding answers. In fact, we're further from finding out what these bastards want than before..."

Judy was taken aback slightly when he stopped talking and stood up. He walked slowly towards the street that lead directly to the ZIA Headquarters. Judy's enhanced hearing picked up Nick whispering, "Son of a bitch."

Nick stood there for several seconds before shouting, "SON OF A BITCH!!!!" Everyone looked at him like he'd gone crazy, which he very well may have.

Nick didn't care, he knew where they needed to go. Judy ran over to him, "What the hell are you doing," she demanded.

Nick started walking towards his car but seemed to remember that it wasn't there anymore. "Alright, we'll have to use what we have," he said. Nick called out to Bogo,"Try to get in contact with any agents who may still be alive. Tell them to head towards my beacon. I took the one from my car. I'll have it active at all times. I'm sorry we can't help you any further."

Bogo knew a man on a mission when he saw one, "Don't worry about it. Save what's left of the city."

Nick chuckled, "I'll do my best. Stay safe, it's most likely going to get a whole lot worse before it gets any better. Try to get somewhere safe, you're sitting ducks out here."

Bogo turned back towards the few officers who remained and Nick headed back towards Judy who was still incredibly confused about what got the fox so determined all of a sudden.

"Nick," said Judy, "What the hell is going on?"

She seemed to have gotten his attention this time. He stopped and looked down at her, "I realized why we haven't found there target."

Judy laughed nervously, "Yeah, and why's that?"

Nick pointed towards the silver building shaped like a pine tree, "Because we were the target the entire time." Nick looked her in the eye and he could tell she knew what he meant.

"Nick we don't have enough people," argued Judy, "If what you're saying is true, we could lose everything!" She was terrified by what her trainer and boyfriend was proposing they do.

Nick began walking again towards the silver spire, "Judy there are many lessons you will learn through out your life. And the one that has always been the most true for me," he said over his shoulder, "is don't mess with a man with nothing left to lose."


	12. Full Circle

Nick had no idea how they were going to pull this off, as he began walking towards the massive silver building shaped like a palm tree. A gentle breeze swept through the decimated and burning city, only stoking the fires feeding off of the once glorious city.

He knew only that he had six agents, one of which he trained himself. They had only nine guns between them with an average of only three magazines for each gun.

Those who had knives were few and far between, other than Nick and Judy, only one other agent had a knife.

Among the group, there were only two large mammals, a leopard and a rhino. But Nick knew that both he and Judy were far better at killing with their hands than either of them could hope.

The more Nick thought about their odds, the darker his thoughts became. He had learned long ago that getting depressed about your situation would do nothing but get you killed. He quickly redirected his thoughts towards the task at hand and all of the things he wanted to do to the people who destroyed his city.

Judy could tell that Nick was suffering, having lived in the city all his life. She knew how much this place meant to him, the people he was once tasked with protecting, nearly all of them now dead or near death. She could only imagine what it would be like to lose everything that gave you purpose.

She increased her speed to catch up to the fox. Once by his side, she grabbed his free hand and squeezed. Judy looked up to see Nick look down at her with a sad smile on his face. It broke her heart. She could see his eyes were watering, nearly on the verge of tears.

She would have done anything to make the pain he felt dissipate. But unfortunately for both of them, there was nothing anyone could do to turn back the clock. Nothing they could do to repair the city and bring it's inhabitants back from the dead.

Judy moved her hand up to his arm, smiling back at him. "It's going to alright Nick, we're going to get the people who did this," she spoke gently and comfortingly, "I promise."

Nick bent down and placed a kiss on the top of her head, "I know, Fluff." After standing there for a few seconds, Nick stood straight again. "Alright, shall we continue?"

Judy nodded in answer as the group continued towards the silver building looming in the distance.

Once this building had been a symbol of what they were tasked with protecting, but now it was only a painful reminder of what they had failed to protect.

The group was still over three miles away from their destination. The first time they swept through the city, they had the priority of finding survivors, killing hostiles and protecting what remained of their city. But as they walked towards the ZIA Headquarters, they had none of these things to occupy their minds, left only to survey what had become of the city.

Nick's heart was racing as he looked around, now fully taking in the devastation and death.

On this street alone, Nick had counted forty bodies on the ground, some burned to a crisp, other's in a pool of blood. The buildings around them were not much different, they were either nearly burned to the ground or laying in shambles.

Nick could feel himself losing what was left of his mind. All of this was most likely caused by a grudge against the ZIA. In someway, Nick felt that he was responsible for the destruction of his beloved city. He had to force his eyes to the look at the ground in front of him to keep himself from going completely mad.

The next half hour went in silence, just one foot after the other, a rhythmic and hypnotic sequence. The sound of footsteps was a blessed relief from the crackling of the fires around them.

Nick still had his eyes planted to the ground and would have had a hole straight through his spine if his military instincts hadn't kicked in at the last moment, causing him to dive out of the way of the sniper round. Nick pulled Judy to the ground with him, feeling the need to protect her from their new assailant.

He grabbed her hand after climbing to his feet and pulled her into the remains of a building nearby. The other agents spread out after hearing the unmistakable crack of a long range rifle.

Nick glanced over to the hole in the pavement caused by the large round, taking note of it's shape and size. He knew immediately what their shooter was packing and became very worried.

"Dammit," he said under his breath. Judy gave him a look, clearly wondering about his fearful behavior at the moment. Nick raised his voice so that everyone in their group could hear him, "Our shooter is pack a Barrett M95. It's a heavy duty, anti armor rifle normally used to pierce solid metal and armor. Think of it as a miniature tank without the explosives. Nothing out here is safe to hide behind, he can just shoot straight through it." Nick let this set in before continuing, "We have two options, we can either try to locate the shooter, or we can stay on the move and try to get to headquarters as soon as possible."

Nick could here chatter and debate among the other agents. This was however silenced when an agent's chest exploded in a large spray of red not even fifty feet away from Nick. The echoing crack of the rifle was heard alongside the blood curdling scream of the agent as he died. Blood and pieces of flesh and fur littered the ground as he slowly slid to the ground against the wall.

Nick was glad that Judy couldn't see in the dark as well as he could, she didn't need to see the full extent and horror of the scene before them.

There was no way that they could run, especially if the shooter could see through walls, most likely using infrared vision.

Nick shouted again, "Alright, that settles it, we take the bastard out before he gets the chance to kill again. Stay spread out and in constant motion. If you see the bastard, take the shot and call out his position." The group dispersed after this.

Just as Nick was about to take off, Judy grabbed his arm. She spun him back towards her and, standing on her toes, she placed a kiss on his lips. She held him there for several seconds before releasing him.

"Stay safe, please," she said, her eyes filled with fear.

Nick's heart melted at this. He knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry fluff, everything is going to be fine." Nick hugged her and stood up. He took off, hearing Judy run off a few seconds after him in the opposite direction.

Nick checked the sights and magazine on his assault rifle one more time as he ran. Once he was sure that it was properly set, he looked around, attempting to locate the shooter.

Every minute or so, another crack of the rifle would go off, but no scream would follow. Nick would hold his breath until he was certain that no one was killed. Releasing the air slowly, he would continue to run.

Nearly thirty shots went off before Nick saw something. On the last shot, he could have sworn that he saw a flash in the distance. It was faint, clouded by the smoke, but he was sure of what he saw.

He took off towards the flash, leaping over rubble, moving around walls, trying to move as erratically as possible. Half way there, he felt the air swish past as the shooter barely missed Nick's head.

As he reached the shattered building he had seen the flash come from, Nick leaped up to the wreckage of a car and then up to a ledge on the second floor of the building.

Nick cautiously crept forwards, trying to be as quiet as possible.

He felt the shift in the dust just in time to avoid the desk that was thrown at him. Rolling to his feet, he faced the attacker to find a large brown bear, standing nearly ten feet tall. The beast had a scar that ran down the side of its face. Nick noticed the rifle strung over its shoulder.

Nick prepared for another attack and was surprised by how fast the bear was. Nick was barely able to avoid the lunge and open jaws. As Nick leaped out of the way, he pulled out his knife and sliced into the bears thick shoulder hide. The beast roared in agony and fury as Nick rolled back to his feet to face the animal.

The bear roared as it charged Nick, who growled in return. Nick ran under the bear and sliced into it's leg muscle. the bear fell forwards, unable to support its own weight, now that Nick had sliced through it's muscles. Nick leaped onto the massive creature's back fighting with it as he jammed the knife into its neck.

As Nick embedded the blade into the beast's neck, it threw him off. Blood was pouring out of it's wound as it tried to stand up. Nick slowly climbed to his feet, and saw a way to end the fight.

He bolted forwards and dropped to the floor on his back. As he slid across it, he put his paw up and grabbed the grip of the knife, pulling it along with him, slicing the bear's neck open. Nick planted his feet onto the floor, causing him to pop up to a standing position.

He turned around, pulled his desert eagle out and shot the floor five times. Hearing it begin to creak, he turned and jumped off the ledge of the building, landing with a roll as he hit the ground.

He heard a roar as the floor give way and building itself collapse on top of the nearly decapitated bear. Nick steadied his breathing, trying to calm himself after such an intense fight.

Once he came back to his senses he called to the other agents, who converged on his position. They saw the blood on his knife and the collapsed building and were able to put two and two together.

After an ordeal such as that, the group continued towards the ZIA Headquarters in complete silence.

Nearly an hour later, the group was standing outside of the building...with no way inside. The doors' safety measures had been activated and the foot thick secondary doors had slid into place. With no way inside, the group was quickly losing hope.

They stayed there for almost another half hour before they heard a sound that none of them had thought they would hear again.

The beat of helicopter blades. A group of ten of them to be exact. It was a welcomed sight, one that lifted their spirits as the choppers landed near them.

Nick approached the lead chopper to find a battered and bruised Jack Savage along with several other five top agents.

Nick's heart dropped when he noticed the difference between this chopper and the others. This was the only chopper with ZIA credentials, the others were military. These were the only surviving agents outside of Nick's group. Eleven agents out of the near well over two hundred previously alive. And they were most likely about to lose more.

What Nick was not expecting, was the number of weapons that military had brought, or who they had brought. From the lead military chopper stepped out Nick's superior officer in the military seven years ago.

He was an older wildebeest named only Red. Nobody quite knew why he was called Red, but they respected him enough to call him that anyways. Nick was even more surprised when the General saluted Nick.

Red spoke with a gruff voice, "Agent Wilde, it is an honor to serve with you." Nick was dumbfounded but saluted back, before Judy came over.

She wrapped her arms around Nick, causing him to look down and smile at her. Red seemed slightly confused before smiling, "I take it you too serve together?"

Nick chuckled, "Yeah, I recruited her and have been training her. She's almost as good as I am, if not better."

Red chuckled back, "As good as the legendary fox who proved every military officer wrong in three years? Now there's something you don't see everyday."

Nick was pleased to find that the military had gotten Nick's secondary beacon. He had wired it to activate alongside the ZIA's beacon. They had responded as quickly as possible, gathering any personnel who where both skilled enough to not get killed in a combat that Nick Wilde needed help in.

Many of them were shocked by what had happened to the city, but where more than happy to kill the ones responsible. Something that Nick was more than familiar with.


	13. The Final Hour

The sound of weaponry, equipment and people moving filled the night as the military and what remained of the ZIA began making preparations for their siege on the silver spire before them. The soldiers and agents worked feverishly to get every little detail squared away.

Nick, Judy and Red, however, were stationed near the main doors, now sealed with two 12 inch thick titanium doors.

Nick and Judy were explaining everything that had happened that night to Red. The old wildebeest listened intently, clenching his fists harder the further into the story the two agents went. It took them nearly an hour to describe everything that had happened that night in perfect detail, the destruction of the Lionett Grand, the murder of the best musicians in all of Zootopia, the wolves who attacked and then forced Nick to shoot the leader, the destruction of the city and it's police departments, and now the attack on the ZIA.

After the two agents finished, Red stood where he was staring out at the water water surrounding the island they were on on three sides. His face was blank, emotionless, but from the amount of pressure he was using to clench his fists, Judy could tell he was furious.

Nick and Judy stepped away from the wildebeest to assist in unloading the choppers, but came to find everything already squared away. All of the equipment was placed into containers. The weapons varied from knives to light machine guns.

Judy grabbed a .45 Magnum, some extra revolver ammunition and a Colt RO635 submachine gun with a silencer. A few of the soldiers had chosen light machine guns, but not any of the agents, who opted for lighter, faster equipment. Nick had chosen to keep the equipment he had and just grab some extra magazines for his weapons. Judy also saw Jack grab a Glock 19 and a Benelli M4 Super 90 shotgun.

As the soldiers were grabbing their equipment, Nick and Judy walked towards the entrance to the building, where now two soldiers who were fully geared and were cutting through the door with enhanced plasma cutters. The immense heat generated by the intensified lasers being powered by large batteries were slowly cutting a doorway through the thick metal.

Nick put his arm around Judy as they watched, pulling her closer to him. She rested her head on his side, letting herself relax just slightly as they waited to storm the ZIA Headquarters. She could hear the air entering and exiting his lungs and the beat of his heart, being slowed by the relaxation techniques employed by agents to stay calm under pressure. These techniques had become second nature to her, using them at almost all times without even thinking about it.

As time passed, the smoke and fires slowly began to die down, thin rays of a mix between sunlight and moonlight began to seep through the darkness as the night slowly turned into day. The ruins of the city all around them being slowly being thrust into the light for the world to see.

The two soldiers continued working on the door until it suddenly began falling away. The soldiers jumped back to avoid being squashed by the large hole left by them, just large enough for an elephant to duck under.

After the metal was moved out of the way, another soldier knelt down before the much thinner door behind it and placed a concentrated explosive device on it. The soldier pressed a few buttons and then back away as the bomb started to beep rapidly. Three seconds later, it detonated mostly in a single direction, blowing the door off it's hinges inwards.

Everyone rushed the now wide open door, guns up and ready to kill. The Agents lead the charge into the building. The doorway lead to a hallway, and everyone immediately noticed the carnage.

All around them lay the bodies of what were once politicians, figure heads, and other wealthy people in Zootopia. Every person who had been in the building when the attack started, at least as far as they could see, was killed. Blood pooled on the floor, was splattered on the walls and ornate decorations. Tables had been flipped over and used to crush some of the smaller animals. Shell casings littered the floor.

A ferret in the corner had the leg of a chair, with the chair still attached impaled through her head. Some of the animals had their heads bashed in and some lined the wall, clearly having been placed in front of a firing squad.

Judy heard a few of the soldiers gag as they saw the amount of unnecessary death, the bodies ripped apart and the blood soaked walls and floor. Judy did feel slightly bad for them, but had to focus on the objective, finding the responsible party and making them pay for the destruction of Zootopia.

Jack Savage approached the line of dead bodies along the wall. He placed his shotgun on the ground and examined the body of one of the animals. The other members of the group spread out across the first floor of many. Judy and Nick stayed with Jack, both to help examine the bodies and to guard the stairwell and elevators that were both in this hallway.

Judy couldn't help but imagine what it must have been like to be in this hallway when these people came in and began slaughtering these defenseless animals. It made her furious to think that someone could be this ruthless. She had come to conclusion a while ago that these people were being led by someone, as a force this large would fall apart without a leader, but the animal who was leading them was still entirely unknown to her.

After a while, the soldiers began coming back into the hallway, finished checking their section of the floor for hostiles. Surprisingly, there were none on the first floor, as it had been discovered a short while later.

As the final few soldiers filed into the hallway, Jack sighed and placed a paw on the head of a dead woman in front of him before standing up. He turned to Nick, "It looks like they were executed," he shook his head, "It doesn't feel right, how are there no dead bodies of the attackers," he continued, "There are at least a hundred dead bodies here, that means a hundred people to fight back, even if they had no experience, from what we saw out there," he gestured towards the door they had come through, "a hundred people should have been able to easily kill at least one of their soldiers, but not even one of them is dead. It doesn't make sense." Jack bent down and picked his shotgun up off the floor.

Judy walked over to the hare and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her with sorrow in his eyes. Judy smiled wearily, "Hey, don't worry, we are going to make these people pay for what they have done. There's no way around that."

Jack looked lost for a few seconds before smiling slightly and nodding. Judy gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before heading to the stairs with the soldiers. She could here both Nick and Jack following close behind.

The first forty or so floors were all the same, slaughtered animals, executions, brutal deaths, and no enemy soldiers. It wasn't until they reached the ZIA portion of the building that Judy could start to here different sounds. The footsteps of hostiles, the laughter, all of it made her sick. How could these people be so at ease with what they have done. It made sense though, at least to why they hadn't been attacked yet. The explosion of the door was never heard because of the sound proofing between the fortieth floor and the forty-first floor.

Judy put up her hand for the group to stop, "I hear hostiles on the floor above us. Stay quiet and we can get the drop on them. The few casualties and injuries on our side, the better chance we have of pulling this off." Judy crept up the stairs further, keeping close to the wall she knew had the door exiting onto the forty-second floor.

Judy reached the metal door and pressed her hand to the scanner on the side of it. The light above the door changed from red to green as a click was heard, the sound of the door unlocking. She slowly opened the door with her submachine gun up.

Halfway through opening the door, Judy saw a shadow of a large mammal. She took a deep breath and stepped around the door, quickly spotting the shadow's owner and shooting the animal through the back of the head. Judy was quickly followed by the other members of the group who spread out efficiently taking out all twenty hostiles on the floor without the enemy firing a single shot.

The next few floors followed suit, quick and efficient sweeps, no friendly casualties or injuries and no enemy firing. It was only when they came to the sixtieth floor that they had their first experience with the enemy's elites.

Immediately after opening the door, Judy heard a large footstep and dove out of the way before the animal tore the door off it's hinges and threw it across the room. The massive lion, easily two feet taller than normal, cackled as he spotted Judy.

Judy fired twice at the animal, but he was incredibly quick for his size, moving out of the way and nearly slamming into Judy as he charged her. Judy heard the other members of her group file out of the stairwell and began moving through the floor.

As Nick exited the stairwell, he spotted Judy in combat with the massive lion and immediately rushed towards her. The cat heard the fox and turned in time to grab him by his waist.

As the beast was distracted, Judy took out her knife and charge the animal, slicing through the muscles in it's legs, causing him to topple backwards. As the lion was falling, Nick loosened its grip enough to get his knife out. He jammed the blade deep into the animal's neck, slicing the jugular. Blood erupted from the wound.

Twisting the blade, Nick pulled it out, only releasing more blood, the wound now much wider and with nothing blocking most of the flow of the red fluid. The beast was quick to die soon after from blood loss.

Several floors following this one had animals who were clearly much larger than they normally would be, all incredibly skilled in fighting and all were incredibly strong. Nick and Judy were able to kill the animals, but it became more difficult as they climbed floors. The soldiers were seeming to have similar trouble with the regular soldiers as well. The higher they went, the more skilled the hostiles became. By the time they had reached the last three floors, they had lost ten soldiers and three more agents.

Judy was again the first to enter the third to final floor. It was surprisingly quiet compared to the other floors. She soon found out why. Once more, she smelled blood, not as much as on the first half of the building, but there was still some.

This floor had only a single room, a study it seemed. Red and gold banners lined the room, the carpet was the same color. And in the center of the room was a large mahogany desk with the dead body of an orange fox who was graying with age, her head bashed in. She had a gun in her paw, a Colt from the looks of it.

Judy heard Nick step behind her. She spoke over her shoulder, "Who is she, and why is this the only room on this floor," asked Judy.

Nick was silent for several seconds before he cleared his throat, "She is one of the three major pillars of the ZIA. Or at least she was. She was also one of the most skilled fighter I had ever met." Nick walked past Judy and stepped beside the dead fox.

Judy stepped towards Nick and placed her paw on his and squeezed lightly, "Nick, I understand she was important, but from the way you're reacting, she clearly meant more to you." She spoke as softly and calmly as she could.

Nick took a deep breath seeming to come out of wherever his mind had drifted to, "She was my Great Grandmother, and also one of the founders of the ZIA. I hadn't met her until I joined the ZIA, protecting her identity and all. But she outclassed anybody I knew when it came to fighting," he turned to Judy with a sly grin, "Except for me of course."

Judy chuckled, "Of course." Nick's face quickly changed back to one of sorrow and then worry.

Nick spoke again, "If she was killed before she could even fire her weapon, than someone in the military group we are facing is one of the most powerful fighters the ZPD has ever had to face, though if I had to guess, the guys that we killed together on the lower floors are up there too."

Judy was taken aback by the statement. These people were the worst that had ever entered the sights of the ZIA? Judy knew that these people were skilled, but to have nearly every elite in this enemy army being at the top of the list of the best fighters to ever plague Zootopia was astonishing. Judy couldn't even imagine how strong the leader of the group had to be to worry Nick like this.

After Nick payed his respects to his great grandmother, the two continued up the stairwell, with the rest of the group close behind.

The second to last floor looked very similar to the one below them, but this one was not empty. As soon as they opened the door, Judy was pulled to the side by Nick as a rhino with a mini gun shredded the door with a constant stream of gunfire.

After twenty minutes and twenty more lives lost, the rhino was finally killed. Out of the original 30 soldiers, including Red, and seven agents, not including Nick, Judy and Jack, all of the other agents were either wounded or dead, and only Red and two soldiers remained as they climbed the stairs to the final floor.

Nick and Judy hugged the wall on either side of the final door. They looked at each other as Nick counted to three on his paw. At three, Judy kicked the door open and stepped into the massive room with her weapon up.

Her ears shot up as a voice sounded throughout the room, echoing off the large, sloping walls, "Ah, so you did make it through my elites. Fascinating." The voice boomed, easily carrying the deep sound with ease, even without the echoes.

All eyes turned towards a massive dark figure at the center of the room. Judy couldn't tell for the life of her what the creature was. He stood easily thirty feet high, yet was in no way bulky like elephants or skinny like a giraffe. The being had pitch black fur and vibrant seemingly glowing red eyes. The creature was smiling, displaying his predator like, razor sharp teeth. Massive muscles rippled through his legs and abdomen as he moved gracefully, not lumbering but almost seeming to glide across the floor.

What made the being even more peculiar, was that instead of just a single tail, he had four bushy equally black tails, each easily as thick as tree trunk. They actually reminded Judy of fox or wolf tails. The being seemed to naturally splay them outwards in different directions. They moved independently of each other, however unlike normal mammals, this being could use them to hold objects, evident by the three dead bodies he had crushed the life out of with the tails.

From the look on Nick's face, Judy knew that he couldn't tell what this creature was either. Judy took a step back when the being began moving towards them. As he got closer, the true massiveness of this creature became more and more evident. The floor vibrated slightly under the pressure of his weight as he took each step.

The being laughed confidently as he threw the dead bodies against the walls. The bodies flew with such force that they were almost a blur. Each left a large red splatter as they impacted the wall, causing them to be literally squashed with the force they were thrown. Judy had no idea how to react to something this strong, something so alien to her.

The beings tails writhed in his excitement like a wolf with a new prey to kill. Though she assumed his excitement was coming more from the fight than the kill.

Everyone raised their weapons and began to fire at the beast. The bullets were clearly hitting him, but it was as if he wasn't even feeling them. In fact, he began to laugh before leaping over Nick and Judy, grabbing the two soldiers beside Red with his two of his tails. These soldiers were not small. In fact, they were an elephant and a bear, combining to weigh over thirteen thousand pounds.

Judy watched in horror as the other two tails grabbed a hold of the half of the animals that wasn't in a tail already, and ripped the soldiers in half. Organs and blood splattered on the floor as the soldiers died instantly, only to be immediately discarded like trash.

Red charged the beast, screaming at the top of his lungs, only for the beast to grab him with his massive paw, encompassing the wildebeest twice over, only to literally bite the general in half. Blood and fur coated the beast's teeth ad he ate the wildebeest.

Judy couldn't believe this was happening, how were they supposed to kill a creature that literally just ripped an elephant and a bear in half and then ate a wildebeest in two bites, along with the fact that bullets didn't faze it in the slightest.

Judy realized that if the beast had jumped over them, that meant that it only wanted to fight Nick and Judy. Meaning that, oh no.

Judy turned to Jack, "Get out of here Jack, he will just kill you! He wants to fight Nick and I!"Judy must have snapped Jack out of shock in time for him to avoid the lightning fast tail that was twice as thick the hare's torso. Running as fast as he could, he bolted towards the stairs.

Judy could tell that the beast was going to go after Jack. She charged it, knife out, and leaped towards the beasts chest, only to have a massive tail swing at her. Putting a paw out, she grabbed the fur on the tail and swung herself over it, dragging the knife through the thick skin as she went.

The beast roared in pain at having it's tail flayed open. With lightning speed, it whipped around and tried to smash Judy with his fist. Judy landed on the ground and immediately propelled herself backwards just in time to avoid the punch that instead crushed the floor it hit. As the beast yanked it's paw out of the floor, small pieces of cement exploded upwards, a shallow hole where the beast had pulled his arm out.

As Judy prepared for another furious attack, she was surprised that instead, the beast began to laugh. She looked confused at Nick, who looked just as surprised as she was.

The beast strolled towards them, "That was not at all very ladylike," said the beast calmly as it passed them, beginning to trace a wide circle around the duo.

Judy stood straight, trying to look as little intimidated as possible, "Well, I couldn't let you kill another of my friends."

The beast stopped walking and turned his head towards the bunny, "Hmmm, Perhaps not."

Judy faced the beast, "Who are you and why are you doing this, you killed millions of innocent people, for what? What was the point!"

The beast smiled, showing off it's large, blood coated teeth, "I do not have a name. It is more WHAT I am more than who. And what I am, is something far older than the city that lays in ruin around us. I am a protector of the old ways, a time when animals relied on their instincts alone to survive."

"That still doesn't explain why you killed millions of innocent people!" Judy snapped.

The beast chuckled, "Have you ever been to other parts of the world? No, most likely not. But I have, they are simpler, more natural. Not worried about how to pay for their next meal, because they can just kill for it. Your city is one of the only places that has made animals 'civilized'." The beast began to pace, "It's unnatural, animals living in homes, wearing clothing, using currency. Animals should be free to do as they wish, yet your city bars them from following their instincts, and if the only way to fix that is to kill all of the corrupted and twisted of mind, then so be it," snarled the beast.

Judy looked shocked, but regained her composer, "You can't just kill animals because they don't act like they once did. We evolved, moved past our instincts and are happy."

The beast chuckled, "Young lady, you act as though I intend to kill you. But there is one thing that I respect more than the old ways, and that is those who defend their home and those they love. You were able to land even a single blow onto me, and that shows that you have the courage and the will to do just that. But I am not going to leave without one of you dead, so the fox must die." The beast moved fast, tails moving forwards in an effort to crush Nick.

However, the fox flipped backwards, landing in a crouched position. Judy hadn't even noticed the knife in his hands until Nick had leaped forwards and sliced a long line up one of the beasts tails. A small amount of blood was dripping from a wound that would have caused any other animal to writhe in agony, potentially even dying. But the beast just ignored it and continued to attempt to crush the fox.

Again and again Nick dodged the attacks and then used the opportunity to slice into the beast, with minimal effect. Judy could tell that Nick was tiring quickly, combat with a skilled foe was one thing, but Nick was having to essentially combat four seemingly invincible foes at the same time. She knew she had to help him.

Judy rushed the beast and drew two of it's tails towards her. Just as Nick had done, she dodged and then cut into the beast. She knew she was cutting deep, but it seemed to still do very little against this behemoth.

Judy was starting to get annoyed with this being, nothing they were doing was working and it seemed to be only toying with them. Though she was glad it wasn't immediately trying to kill them, otherwise she assumed they would already be dead.

Judy yelled over to Nick, "How are we supposed to kill it?"

Nick responded after dodging another barrage of tail swipes, "I don't know. It isn't even flinching form being sliced up!"

The beast seemed to begin to get fairly annoyed with the agents' tactics, and decided to switch from using it's tails to swiping at them with his massive paws. Judy had to dive over the arm that just swung at her to just barely avoid being sliced open by the beast's massive claws. A moment later, she dove out of the way as he tried to smash her with another punch, once again punching through the floor.

Judy had an idea, she pulled out her revolver and began rhythmically firing at the beast, only pissing it off, but that was what she wanted. The angrier it became, the more it disregarded tactic and began to just try and smash her.

After punching the ground over fifty times, the beast seemed to tire of bashing his fist into the ground and then tried to smash Judy by jumping on her, Judy had been waiting for something like this and rushed to the edge of the floor, hugging the wall and thankfully, Nick had followed her example as the floor began to crack under the weight of the massive beast.

The creature looked confused at first as to why the ground was cracking, and then saw the impacts and holes it had created by punching the ground. By jumping on the floor, the weight of the beast had been just enough to cause a chain reaction to cause the floor to give way under his feet.

The thicker section of floor around the wall was the only part of the room that wasn't about to fall to the bottom of the ZIA Headquarters.

Judy watched with relief as the floor finally gave way and the beast roared as it fell through the floor, his weight carrying him through every floor after that, all the way to the bottom.

Judy heard the roar come to an abrupt stop as he hit the bottom. She peeked over the edge of the hole to see the beast laying impaled by a large piece of flooring. Pieces of metal and concrete jutted out from his body in all directions. Blood was quickly draining from it's body. The once powerful tails now lay limp in a forming pool of blood.

Judy sighed with relief and exhaustion as she realized that it was finally over. The two agents began the long climb down the stairs to the ground.

As the two exited the building, they saw the smoke nearly completely cleared, replaced by the sunrise, the beautiful gold hue of the sky was a stark contrast to the immense destruction that lay before them. Everything that was once home to the three agents, now standing outside of the ZIA Headquarters, had been destroyed in the beast's wake. But, now they could begin to build a new one, one even better than the last. One, that would continue to spread the message of equality and togetherness that the previous had.

And one that would keep the memories of the dead forever alive, never to forget the people who lost their lives. One that would keep the memory alive of their final hour.


	14. Epilogue

The bright yellow ball in the sky slowly rose to shed its light upon the ruined city. Cracked and jagged pieces of cement, wood and other materials jutted out of the earth like a monster's teeth about to snap shut on the island that held the once ZIA Headquarters as well as the only known survivors of the attack.

Nick Wilde was almost incapable of wrapping his head around what had happened in the last four hours. The only home he ever knew now lay in ruin around him. The once shining city of Zootopia, a symbol of unity and security, now reduced to a hollow shell of what it was. And all due to a single crazed lunatic who wanted to return to a time where animals were less civilized.

Nick didn't even know if Angel or Bogo had made it to safety or not. The only people he was certain survived were those standing next to him. Judy Hopps and Jack Savage.

All three animals' clothes were torn and dirt riddled. Nick had lost his tie at some point and had several bruises from the intense fight they were just involved in. The beast's blood was still embedded in his fur, having dripped down his knife and onto his paws and arms. Nick knew Judy's weren't much better.

As much uncertainty that lay before him, Nick was just glad to that Judy had survived. If he had lost her, the woman he had been training and shortly after fell in love with, he didn't know what he would have done. Hell, he'd probably be dead to, if it hadn't been for her quick thinking and using the beast's rage to make it crack the floor.

Nick sighed as and closed his eyes, lowering his chin to his chest. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He didn't care anymore, let the tears come. He had nothing left to prove, nothing to push him to be better than everyone. The only thing that had given him a purpose was now gone. The ZIA had been the only thing in his life for seven years. It was fun at times, but it was also terrifying. The things he had seen and experienced, the things he had done, the lives he had taken. He estimated his death toll was somewhere in the tens of thousands, closer to a hundred thousand.

All of the stress and pressure, the need to be the best, the need to prove himself, all of it was meaningless now. There was no place for him to call home, nowhere to feel safe.

He felt a strong set of arms wrap around his torso. Nick's eyes shot open in surprise as he looked down. A smile crept across his face when he saw Judy hugging him, her big purple eyes looking back at him. He saw the tears in her eyes and his heart broke.

He crouched down to look her in the eyes.

Nick part his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. She grabbed onto his shirt, scrunching the material in her paws. Nick stroked her ears and felt her shiver in his arms. He tried to figure out why and then heard a soft voice being muffled by his shirt.

Nick picked Judy up and spun her around, holding her above his head. When her put her back down she was giggling uncontrollably. Nick put on a grin and planted a kiss on the top of her head. "There we go," he said, "That's the smile I was looking for. Now, what did you say?"

Judy giggled, "I said, rabbit ears are sensitive."

Nick became worried, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Judy giggled again. "It's alright," she said, "it didn't hurt. It just felt..." she stopped to think for a moment, "odd? Not bad, but just, comforting. It made me feel safe for some reason, like I wasn't going to be hurt as long as you were holding me." She laughed at her seemingly confused rambling, "It was a lot of different unique feelings I guess."

Nick sighed and sat down next to Judy on the ground. He pulled the bunny down with him and placed her on his lap. Laying his chin on the top of her head, they sat there for a few moments, not saying or doing anything, just being close to one another, until Nick heard footsteps.

Nick's ears perked up as he turned to see Jack Savage approaching the couple. Nick had nearly forgotten that he was there.

Jack had been Nick's friend longer than they had been in the ZIA. Having both been recruited from the military. At first, the two had been equals, nearly identical in both fighting prowess and style. But then something happened that changed that forever.

Nick still remembered the day, it had been less than a month after joining the ZIA. It was supposed to be a simple drug trafficking shutdown, and Brett Nordman, a hyena and his teacher at the time, had thought it would be a good training exercise. Nick was already a far better fighter at this point, but he was still shaky at best when it came to on the job situations. You can be the best fighter in the world, but if you didn't know how to respond to a situation outside of direct combat, you were going to die.

Only Nick and Brett had been sent to the warehouse, the location of the trafficking ring. When they arrived, they were immediately ambushed. In the firefight that followed, Nick was shot in the abdomen, leaving only Brett to fight. Or so the hyena had thought. Almost as soon as Brett had started firing back after Nick was shot, he had seen an orange blur whip by him as Nick, even with a bullet wound, proceeded to take down the rest of the assailants with only his claws. From that point on, Nick was unstoppable. Knowing that he could be shot and killed put him in the mindset that he needed to be better than anyone or anything, even a gun. He was going to be the best. And that he did.

Jack smiled tiredly at the agent before him, though he realized that they were all ex-agents now, as the ZIA no longer existed. As the hare approached, he took of the hole riddled shirt he had on, displaying the powerful muscles in his arms and torso. He rolled the shirt up and sat next to Nick, looking at the ground.

The trio sat in silence before Jack raised his head to the sky. He let out a big sigh, "Nick, old friend, what are we going to do now." The hare turned his gaze towards the orange fox, "the ZIA was all we had for so long." Jack slumped forward, placing a hand in his knee and the other on the ground.

Nick sat silently for several seconds. Not having a decent answer, he sighed. "I don't know, buddy," he said, "I don't know where to go."

They continued sitting, saying nothing until Judy's ears shot up. Bounding to her feet, she turned to face the two males. "I know where we can go!" she exclaimed. From the curious looks on their faces, she could tell that she had their attention. "We can go to Bunnyburrow!"

Nick and Jack looked at each other. Jack shrugged. "Don't look at me," he said, "I don't know what she's talking about."

Nick looked back at Judy, "Fluff, I don't think we are going to fit in a bunny burrow."

Judy giggled, "No. It's not a bunny burrow. Bunnyburrow is my home town. It's just a three hour drive from here."

Nick rubbed the back of his neck, "Carrots, you realize that we have to walk there, right? It's gonna take a lot longer than that."

Judy was shocked, "Nick, have you already forgotten that we run faster than most cars? Just because we aren't apart of ZIA doesn't mean we don't still have our abilities."

Judy heard Jack chuckle at Nick's lapse in logic. This received a punch from the fox that knocked the hare over. Judy sighed with a smile. She loved that fox, but he could be such a pain at times.

She looked at the two people in front of her again. "So what do you think. My parents have a hut that we can stay in. It's big enough to hold my 275 siblings, and about a quarter of them have moved out already, so we should have plenty of space."

Nick and Jack looked at each other again. Nick turned back to Judy after a few moments, his ears flat against his head, "Fluff, are you sure you want to take two trained killers to your parent's house?"

Judy laughed, "Nick, clearly you have also forgotten that their daughter is a trained killer as well," she grinned at the fox, "or do you not think that I'm qualified to carry that title." Judy took on a serious posture now, "Which, by the way, is what we are now. We have no affiliation with any government organization because their isn't any currently and that means that we are no longer agents, just killers. Skilled ones at that, I might add."

Nick hung his head, he knew she had a point. Not only because he knew that she was more than qualified for that status, but also that the term agent no longer applied to any of them. Other than Judy, nobody knew any of them or what they had done. And even then, only her parents knew her. If people found out what they had done, he didn't know what would happen. They would most likely be afraid of them.

Nick rubbed the back of his neck as he stepped towards the bunny girl. He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked her in the eyes, "Alright, if you really feel that we should go to your parents house, then I think it's a good idea," Nick grinned at her, "It's not like we have many options to begin with."

Nick looked over his shoulder at the hare, who shrugged, picked up his dropped shirt, tucking it into his waist band and walked over the the couple. "I guess I'm just along for the ride. If you guys go, I'll tag along," Jack stuck his hands into his pockets and smiled, "It can't be worse than this place anyhow."

Nick knew what he meant. Jack wasn't talking about the appearance of the city, but rather the memories that it contained, now lost to the world. The only people that they knew of who knew what happened here were them, the only known people who survived.

Nick let Judy go so that she could lead the way. Almost immediately after this, she smirked at the fox and then said, "I'll race you." And just like that she took off towards her destination.

"Damn that bunny. That girl is going to be the death of me," Nick mumbled as he took off after the bunny with Jack close behind him. Nick didn't want to go full speed, knowing that he could still beat Judy in a foot race, so he went five miles below his limit. Still fast enough to catch up to her, but not so fast that he wore himself out.

Even still, the trio was moving at well over fifty miles an hour. They all knew that they could keep that pace up for an entire day, Judy had been required to while training for those six weeks at the military compound.

The destroyed buildings and burned bodies flew past them in a blur as the trio moved through the city. It took them only a few minutes to clear the massive city, or what was left of it, and were now on the open road.

Nick hadn't been out here much, having been mostly in the city. But those rare times he did come out to the open landscape around them had always left there mark on him. He always wondered what his life would be like if he hadn't been raised in the city. What if he had been born a farmer? How much different would he be? Or would he have still felt the need to prove himself and join the military. Probably not, but then again, he wouldn't have known the life that he has now either. And every time, he came to the conclusion that he was happy with the way his life turned out, the places he'd seen, the people he'd met. Everything that had taken place while in the ZIA was so amazing, he'd helped so many people. Saved the world a few times and even got to kill a giant beast that was older than the city itself. His life had been anything but dull.

As they ran, the flat land around them slowly sloped upwards, the incline causing them to reduce their speed so as not to tire themselves out faster.

Every now and again, Nick would take his eyes off of their surroundings and focus on the toned and muscular backside of the bunny in front of him. Judy had looked over her shoulder at one point to find the fox staring at her butt, which made her giggle. She teased him about it and he became incredibly embarrassed. She heard Jack dying of laughter behind him. She didn't mind the fox checking her out, she actually kinda enjoyed it. To be honest, she was guilty of the very same act, it was just that she was more discreet about it.

It took them another hour to reach a sign that said, 'Bunnyburrow, One Mile'. Nick was slightly nervous about how they would be greeted. Their clothing sure wasn't going to help set the people of Bunnyburrow much. Not to mention the fact that they all still had a side arm and knife on hand.

Nick's pistol was especially important to him. The Desert Eagle had been a gift to him from the commander who had helped him when he was a kid. The pistol had been just your average Desert Eagle, nothing special, but it had saved his life on many occasions. After he had enough money, he spent well over ten grand on customizing every detail to his liking by his own hand.

Fairly quickly, another sign came up that said they would reach Bunnyburrow in half a mile. Shortly after another sign saying they would reach it in a quarter mile. Finally, after three hours of running, the trio reached a sign that said, 'Bunnyburrow, Population.....' Nick almost laughed out loud when he saw how rapidly the population was rising.

Nick turned to Judy with a grin, "It seems the rumors about bunnies being busy in bed was no joke."

Nick had expected to be kicked in the shin as usual. But instead, Judy merely grinned back, "What can I say. Bunnies are good at multiplying." The look of surprise at her comment made Judy chuckle.

Nick's ears perked up when he heard talking, but not just about anything. The chatter was about them, specifically their clothes and weapons. Nick looked around and saw over a hundred bunnies in a large group in front of a train station. Nick looked and saw the train track that lead straight towards the city they just came from. Nick's heart sank when he saw this. Oh man, how many people lived in Zootopia that were from here? How was he going to explain what happened? 'Oh, hey. All of your loved ones who lived in the biggest city in the world? Yeah, they died. Why you ask? Oh, because a fifteen foot tall beast with four tails and glowing orange eyes wanted everyone to return to a time when we were more primitive, so he killed everyone and nearly us.' Yeah, that would go over well.

Nick stepped towards the crowd, but stopped when he saw that a few of them had shotguns. "Wow, we have all of the stereotypes today," thought the fox. Nick knew that they weren't a threat to him, but didn't want to cause a bigger disturbance by using his abilities to evade their gunfire.

Nick raised his hands. When Judy saw this she became furious, how dare these people treat them like this! She stormed over to the crowd and yelled at them, "Who do you think you are! This fox is no threat to any of you. He's a hero dammit! He's saved more lives than the number of crops you have grown over your entire lives put together." Judy was about to say something more when she saw a tan bunny push his way out of the crowd, shotgun in hand of course. Judy turned her head to see who dared to challenge them when she saw who it was. "Dad?!?"

Stu couldn't believe Judy was here, it seemed so unreal. He hadn't seen her in four months. And then he noticed her torn clothes and the blood staining her fur. She looked like she'd been through hell. "Judy, what in the name of hell happened to you?" As soon as he said this, he could see the tears in her eyes. Stu looked at the two people accompanying her and saw the somber looks on their faces.

"Dad," Judy began, "Zootopia is gone." This caused the crowd to gasp collectively. They began to talk among themselves.

Stu has shocked, "Judy, what do you mean Zootopia is gone?"

Judy looked at the ground. Nick took this opportunity and put a hand on her shoulder

Stu suddenly recognized the fox, "Hold on. You're that fox bastard that broke my daughter's ribs! You're not welcome here!" He pointed the shotgun at Nick, attempting to scare him off.

Stu heard a growl, but it wasn't from who he had expected it to be. As shocking as it was, the sound came from his daughter. Stu took a step back when Judy's ice cold glare settled upon him. His heart immediately started beating twice as fast.

Judy stepped towards her father. Nick released her shoulder, letting her deal with the older bunny.

Stu took another step back as Judy got closer. When Judy was literally inches from his face, she spoke, "Maybe I didn't explain myself well enough. Zootopia is destroyed, lying in rubble. Nothing remains," tears were rolling down her face, but she kept the stern look on her face. "And that destruction was caused by a group of terrorists who wanted everyone to return to when we relied on our instincts alone, instead of technology. We were just fighting and risking our lives for the past four hours. We had to kill A LOT of people. And we saw a lot of people get killed by them. To top it all off, not only was the city destroyed, but everyone, as far as we know, is dead, either having burned to death, being crushed by rubble, or being shot." Judy knew she was scaring her father a little, but she didn't care, "Oh! And then there's the part where all of our friends and colleagues died, some of them being torn in half by a fifteen foot tall beast with four tails that we could only kill by making it fall through all eighty floors of the ZIA Headquarters. It has been a very bad day and I was hoping that we could rely on you people to help us in a time of need. The number of times Nick has saved you and you don't even know is remarkable. The ZIA can't release that information due to endangering the agent's family, but now that the ZIA no longer exists, I guess that doesn't matter. So if you are going to insult HIM," Judy gestured towards Nick, "We will just leave. Clearly, we should have let that beast do as it wished. Maybe you ARE all too corrupted by your technology to realize that even a killer, a HERO, has feelings and emotions that are exactly the same as yours."

Judy turned away from her father and started walking away. "Goodbye Dad," she said over her shoulder.

Stu's ears drooped as he sighed. He felt guilty for being so disrespectful to someone that he knew was more of a hero than he could ever be. "Judy, wait. Please," pleaded Stu.

Hearing the guilt riddled voice that came out of her father made Judy stop in her tracks. She slowly turned towards him, ready to give another lashing, but then she saw the look on his face. She felt bad for being so harsh, "Dad, I'm sorry. I shouldn't-"

Stu put up his paw, "No, you were right. I shouldn't have disrespected your friend like that. I didn't mean to push you away. I just..." Stu tried to find the right words, "I'm sorry. You and your friends can stay with me and your mother."

Judy smiled at her father's words. "Thanks Dad." Judy's stomach made a gurgling sound,"You wouldn't happen to have anything to eat would you? We just ran a hundred fifty miles in three hours and we are all starving."

Stu's eyes went wide, "You ran from Zootopia in three hours?"

Jack stepped forward, "Yeah, they would have made it here faster, but I was slower than them by about five miles."

Stu looked at the hare, noticing for the first time both the massive muscles layered on his chest and arms as well as the lack of a shirt. Stu was stunned by how incredibly strong these former agents must be. "Probably shouldn't try to pick a fight with them," he thought.

Stu stepped towards the hare with a paw extended, "And who might you be?"

Jack chuckled, taking the bunny's hand in his own and shaking it, "My name is Jack Savage. I was in the military with Nick before we were recruited by the ZIA together."

Judy's ears shot up when she heard a familiar female voice, "Judy!"

Judy turned her head to look at the crowd, or rather the bunny who had just squeezed through it. The grey bunny ran over to Judy and gave wrapped her in a hug.

Judy smiled as she she hugged her mother back, "Hi Mom."

Bonnie stepped back from Judy to look at her, "Judy, what happened to you guys? You look like you went through hell."

Nick stepped beside Judy and smiled sadly, "We kind of did, Mrs. Hopps." Nick's ears went flat against his head when he said this, thinking about how much they had lost in a single night.

Bonnie put her hand over her chest, "What happened?"

Nick proceeded to lay out everything that happened, leaving out some of the more gruesome details.

After Nick finished, Bonnie and Stu looked at each other. After what felt like an eternity, Stu looked back at the three, "I...I don't know what to say." Stu looked to Judy directly, "How were you not scared out of your mind?"

Judy yawned, "Dad, please. I'd love to keep playing twenty questions, but we are all very tired and hungry."

Stu seemed to be snapped back to reality, "Oh, right. Yes, um, the truck is parked nearby." Stu and Bonnie started walking towards the car, but stopped when they noticed that the three agents hadn't moved. "Well what are you waiting for? Let's go."

Judy looked between the other two agents and smiled. Though she was getting tired from the lack of sleep, she still had enough energy for one more plan for the day. And from the look on both of the men's faces, so did they. Judy turned back towards her parents and grinned, "Actually, how about we race you back to the house?"

Bonnie looked surprised, "You want to race us while we drive a truck?"

"Yep, I bet that we can beat you easily too," said Judy.

Stu smirked to his wife and chuckled before turning back to Judy, "Alright. Whatever you say kiddo. But I'll let you get a head start while we get the truck."

It was Nick's turn to chuckle, "Your mistake Mr. Hopps." And just like that, the three agents took off at over fifty miles an hour. They zipped around the crowd and just like that they were gone.

Stu took off his hat and scratched the top of his head, "You saw that too, right?"

Bonnie chuckled to herself, "I think so."

"Well good. At least that means I'm not coming down with the fever. But, uh, I think we may have just lost that bet."

Four minutes later and over three miles away, the three agents stopped in front of a hut made of wood and dirt.

Nick scratched his head as he looked at the building, "Uh, fluff. I don't see how this could fit your 275 siblings."

Judy giggled, "If it were just this, then no. But most of it is underground tunnels."

Judy saw Nick's eyes get larger when she said it was underground, "Nick, are you claustrophobic?" The look on Nick's face made her giggle again.

Nick looked at the bunny with a scowl, "Don't make fun of me. I can handle tight spaces, but living in one is a whole other issue."

Judy punched him on the arm playfully, "You'll be fine, those tunnels were built forty years ago and they are all exactly the way they were when they were first built. Nothing is going to happen."

This seemed to calm the fox, but only slightly.

All three animals' ears perked up when they heard an engine getting closer. They all turned to see Stu and Bonnie in an old grey pickup truck.

They watched as the two bunnies made their way to them. When Stu was close enough to be heard he asked, "How in the hell did you run that fast? I could barely run twenty when I was in my prime."

Nick grinned, "I'm not the best for nothing you know."

Judy hit him on the arm again, "Thanks for that lesson in modesty, slick. And I wouldn't be so sure about you being the best anymore."

Nick chuckled, "Oh, so you think you can stand up to the task of beating me in a fight? Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Jack grinned and shook his head. He looked up at Stu and Bonnie to find them looking worriedly at their daughter who was currently challenging the fox who had broken her ribs a few months ago.

Jack looked back at the fox and bunny and watched as Judy grabbed Nick by his torn shirt collar. She pulled him down to her and kissed him, trapping him there for several seconds, though getting away from her was the last thing on his mind at the moment. When she released him, she leaned forward and layed her head against his chest, "We can find out who is better tomorrow. I want to eat and then sleep for the rest of the day."

Nick smiled and placed his large paw on the top of her head, stroking her ears, knowing it would made her shiver in delight like it did before. "Alright, Carrots," he said softly, "food and sleep sound slightly appealing at the moment. But I'll hold you to that challenge."

Judy giggled, "Sounds good to me, my handsome fox." She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his waist.

After Nick and Judy separated, the group went inside for food and relaxation.

The next day, the fox and bunny finished eating their breakfast and headed outside. As they exited the Hopps burrow, Nick and Judy were greeted by the sun, as well an unexpected guest.

Nick stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the white fox standing at the road talking to Judy's parents. Nick was glad that the Hopps had a change of clothes that fit him. Nick ran over to the albino fox who's cloak and clothes were torn, dirty and smelled of fire and smoke.

Angel turned just in time to see his oldest cousin grab him and pulled him into a bear hug. He was surprised at first but then let his emotions go. He hugged Nick back and the two cried, for what they lost, but also for what they still had. They knew that they were the only ones of their family left.

Nick let go of his cousin slowly and smiled at him, "Angel, I'm so happy to see you. I didn't know if you had survived."

Angel chuckled, "What, you think that anybody could kill all of this?" He gestured to himself, which caused Nick to laugh. Angel quickly returned to a more serious demeanor, "Nick, I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to the ZIA. I know it meant a lot to you."

Nick rubbed the back of his neck and put his other paw in his pocket, "Yeah, it did. But I'm just glad you're alright."

Judy walked over to Angel, "Angel, what happened to Bogo?"

Angel looked at Judy and then at the ground, "He...he sacrificed himself to get me out. I told him that I wasn't going to leave him, but he said he wasn't going to let me die in Zootopia, not when I still had my whole life ahead of me." Judy could see tears starting to form in his eyes.

As much as the beast had taken from them, it would never be able to take the memory of those they had lost. The memory of who they were and what they had done would live on through all of them until they took their last breath on this world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of trouble coming up with a villain that would live up to the destruction it caused. I don't know if I went to far though. Tell me what you guys think.


End file.
